


Undying

by chissprincess



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2014-01-19
Packaged: 2017-12-14 12:58:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 150,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/837144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chissprincess/pseuds/chissprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cadet Tycho Celchu and Imperial officer candidate Thrawn would never have imagined they could become friends, let alone anything more. But their tense meeting would eventually turn into friendship...and more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author notes: My first fanfic in, like, forever, and my first ever posted to AO3. I'm revisiting my old crack pairing of Tycho Celchu and Grand Admiral Thrawn (who isn't a Grand Admiral just yet...bear with me!). Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing except the off-the-wall idea that spawned this massive epic of a fanfic. All non-original characters, settings, situations, etc. from the Star Wars universe here belong to George Lucas and/or Timothy Zahn. I am merely playing in their universe.
> 
> Warnings: This is AU (alternate universe) and focuses on a romantic relationship between two men. Read at your own risk, and if you don't like those things, don't say I didn't warn you.

**Chapter 1**

"...I regret to inform out cadet pilots that you will be unable to return to your normal quarters this year due to their destruction in a tragic and completely unavoidable fire while you were away."

Cadet Tycho Celcho felt himself snap back to attention at those words from the Academy's Dean. He and the other cadets had just returned from the brief leave they customarily received between each year of training at the academy. Since this was his last year, he had become used to the string of speeches and announcements given every time they returned from a leave. In fact, Tycho had memorized most of the announcements by now, and had perfected a way of "paying attention" that involved looking mesmerized while actually letting his mind wander. It had never been a problem before.

But then the Dean had broken with tradition and made an odd announcement, and that forced Tycho to pay attention.

"Unfortunately, we do not at this time have any idea when new facilities will be constructed for you," the Dean continued as Tycho and his fellow future pilots listened with rapt and astonished attention. "However, please be assured that you will not be homeless. The cadets in the officer's division have graciously volunteered to house you while we rebuild your barracks."

"Yeah, they look so gracious," a voice muttered beside Tycho. He glanced to his right at the stocky, dark-skinned man beside him. Keton Rel-Barre had been one of Tycho's friends and roommates since their very first day at the Academy together. Keton had a way of calling it like he saw it that struck many as abrasive, but that Tycho had long ago learned to appreciate.

And right now, Keton was definitely calling it right.

"Don't they?" he muttered back, looking past Keton to the neat lines of officer cadets on the other side of the aisle. A few of the cadets did genuinely look pleased to be able to help their pilot peers, but expressions of the rest ranged from bored to flat-out hostile. Tycho could understand why. The officer cadets lived in barracks that were more plush and less crowded than the rest. They were the envy of the Academy and were one of the reasons most of the officer cadets here had chosen to study at this academy rather than taking spots at more prestigious branches like Raithal or Corulag, where the officer cadets received no such perks. And now they were going to lose those perks, with no end date in sight. Tycho would have been annoyed too.

"Your room assignments have been made based on a variety of factors, including seniority and your class standing," the Dean continued, either ignoring or oblivious to the scattered murmurs in the crowd he was addressing. "Needless to say, the best assignments have gone to the top ten percent of this year's senior class."

Tycho felt Keton wilt a little. Keton had always just barely missed out on being in the top ten percent of their class, and had always missed out on the benefits of being in that position. Once again, he was going to miss out on something because he just couldn't seem to make up the few points he needed to break into the top ten percent. "Don't be so down," he hissed at his friend. "You're still in the top fifteen. You've gotta get something good out of that."

Keton chose not to answer at that moment, though, because the Dean was adding, "See your commanders and trainers for your new room assignments. Your luggage, as always, is waiting for you in the lobby. Dismissed."

The officer cadets nearly ran from the room, clearly headed back to their own quarters in the hopes of claiming the best spots for themselves and putting away their private and sensitive possessions before their new pilot roommates arrived. Tycho just shook his head a little and followed Keton through the crowd to the back of the room, where their commander was handing out new key cards to the other members of their training squadron. He and Keton were half-way there when they were joined by a third man, a tall redhead who usually lived across the hall from them.

"Some way to start the year," he said, nodding to both Tycho and Keton. "Wonder who we'll be stuck with."

"Come on, you know Celchu's getting a good assignment," Keton groused. "Not like us at the bottom of the heap."

"Oh shut up," Tycho muttered as he took his card from the commander. "Not you sir, sorry, I was talking to Cadet Rel-Barre," he added at a sharp look from the harried commander. He stepped aside to let others get their keys too, then wandered off in search of his bags, Keton and the redhead following behind. "How did the fire start anyway?"

The redhead shrugged. "No idea, wasn't here. Heard it was some kind of storm though."

"That's just stupid, a bloody _storm_? Next thing you're gonna tell me is Palpatine is having twins."

"Hey, don't vape the messenger, I'm just telling you what I heard!"

Once he found his bags, Tycho tuned the rest of the argument out in favor of hunting for his datapad. He found it quickly and slid the card key into it, then tapped a few buttons until it showed him a map of the Academy and where he needed to go. He left the map up so he could follow it to his destination, slung one bag over his shoulder, and lifted the handle on the rolling one so he could pull it along behind him. "Alright you two," he said, interrupting Keton's conversation with their fellow pilot, "I'm going to my new room. See you at dinner." And with that, he was off.

Tycho had made it all the way to the proper lift in the proper building and was just about to double-check which floor he was going to when, behind him, he heard a commanding voice call, "Celchu!"

He paused and turned to see who had called him, and saw his commander hurrying towards him. Tycho snapped to attention and saluted. "Sir?"

"I'll ride up with you, Celchu, I want to have a little chat with you," the older man said, brushing past Tycho into the waiting lift and waiving the cadet in behind him.

Tycho dragged his luggage into the lift, checked the floor number on his map, and pushed the appropriate button. He felt the floor move beneath him as the lift began its ascent to the highest floor in the building. "What did you want to talk to me about, sir?" he finally asked after several moments of silence.

The commander waited until the lift stopped, then reached over and pushed the pause button. Until he released it, the lift doors wouldn't open and nobody else would be able to use the lift. "I owe you an apology, Celchu," he said. "And you know me well enough to know that's a hard thing for me to admit to a subordinate."

Tycho did know that. He didn't think he had ever once heard his commander apologize to anyone for anything in all the time he had been at the Academy. As a result, he wasn't entirely sure how to proceed. "An apology for what, sir?" he finally asked. "Not that I think it's needed, really..."

"For being unable to change your room assignment," the commander said. "I begged them to give you a better one, but they said it wasn't fair to the others since everyone else had a random assignment." He sighed and shook his head. "But you deserve better, Celchu. When you're not at the top of the class you're making whoever is sweat. You should be in a place with someone who can actually understand you and get along with you."

Tycho just gave the other man a confused look. "Sir, I appreciate you standing up for me, but I like to think I'm flexible and easy-going enough to get along with whoever I have to live with. Besides, it's only temporary."

"Well, I hope you're right." The commander released the lift and the doors whooshed open, depositing Tycho and his trainer in the hallway of the officers' barracks. "Come, this way."

Tycho followed the other man, looking around at the hallway in curiosity. He had grown up used to wealthy surroundings, so the relative extravagance of these quarters compared to what the pilots usually have didn't dazzle him as much as it might have dazzled some of his peers. But he had to admit, compared to the old pilots' barracks, this was impressive. "Geez," he commented, "I should've become an officer."

"But then we would be out a pilot and you would be bored out of your mind," the commander replied, though he did chuckle a bit at Tycho's comment. "Here's your new housing, son," he added, pausing in front of a synthwood door at the end of the hall bearing a simple number 5. He stepped back so Tycho could swipe his key in the door and step inside.

Tycho had no idea what to expect from the rooms in the officer cadets' quarters, so anything would have surprised him. But he had to admit he hadn't been expecting a small but well-appointed two-bedroom apartment. The room he entered was a combined living room, dining

room, and kitchen, with just enough counter space in the kitchen to prepare a simple meal. He noted that the small dining room table was just large enough to seat two people comfortably, and indeed had two matching chairs, one on each end of the rectangular table. The table was pushed up against the wall opposite the door, beside the apartment windows, where anyone sitting at it could look out and admire the view – a surprisingly attractive view of the academy campus, with the planetary scenery just visible in the distance. A couch and holo unit had been arranged by the wall just to the left of the door. To the right, past the kitchen, two doors several feet apart led into other rooms. The door on the right was open, and the one on the left firmly shut.

"Well, I guess that tells us which room is his," Tycho's commander said. "Look, Celchu, again, I'm really sorry about this. The last thing I ever wanted was for you to get stuck with a guy like him."

Tycho dropped his bag in the middle of the living room floor and went to inspect the kitchen. It was spotless. Either his roommate had just happened to get here ahead of time and hadn't had time to dirty up the kitchen yet, or the man was immaculately tidy. "You make it sound like he's a mad vibroshiv murderer or something, sir," he said.

"Well, no, of course not. But then, who knows what kinds of things his people do for fun...he's not exactly _human_ , you know."

Tycho stiffened a bit, and stifled and exasperated sigh. Not exactly human, eh? Well, that was hardly a problem in his eyes. It was one of the biggest things he and the Empire didn't agree on. Non-humans were hardly a problem. If Tycho and his roommate didn't get along, it would be because the roommate turned out to be an asshole or they couldn't agree on a bathroom schedule or something, not because Tycho was human and the roommate wasn't.

But he couldn't say that to his commander, now could he? Instead, he turned to the other man, nodded, and said, "I'll do my best, sir. Thank you for your concern, and the warning."

"Of course, Celchu, of course." The commander shook his hand and then left, scurrying from the apartment as though afraid he would catch something if he stayed too long. Tycho watched him go and waited for the door to slide shut behind him, then let out the sigh he had been holding back and leaned on the kitchen counter.

Whether or not he had problems with non-humans, he had to admit that most of the Empire did and that it was highly unusual for a non-human to even try becoming an officer. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more unusual the situation seemed. He would have noticed a non-human officer cadet on campus by now, he was sure of it, but there hadn't been one for the past few years of his training here. But there must have been, the top floor of barracks buildings was reserved for the upperclassmen, and here he was on the top floor of the officers' building. Had he really been so oblivious that he had missed a non-human on campus for three years?

Tycho shook his head and finally left the little kitchen area. He collected his bags from the living room and headed to the bedroom on the right. He had to hunt a little for the light switch, but when he finally got the lights on he discovered that his room had the same balance of sparseness and poshness as the living room. A simple desk sat along one wall, near a small window. It came with a padded, rolling desk chair and a simple desk lamp. Tycho went over to the desk and sat in the chair to test it out, reaching up to turn the lamp on too. It was quite bright, and the chair was incredibly comfortable. He couldn't help but twirl around in it a few times before finally getting up and moving on to his bed. It was larger than what he had in the pilots' barracks and a quick test of the mattress revealed that it was much softer too. A set of blankets and sheets sat folded neatly at the foot of the bed. Tycho would have to make his bed soon, but he could continue exploring the room first. Beside the bed, a set of mirrored sliding doors opened into a large closet with more than enough space for all of his clothes and anything else he wanted to store in there, including an extra set of bedding and some towels for the bathroom, already stacked neatly on some narrow shelves on one end of the closet area. Tycho opened some of the drawers in the closet, decided they were just as good as any other drawers he had seen, and closed them before moving on to the refresher.

The refresher turned out to be a shared room linking the two bedrooms. A quick test revealed that the door into his roommate's bedroom was both shut and locked. The main part of the refresher that connected their rooms featured a long mirror and two sinks, each separated by a bit of shared counter space and each with counter space and a small cabinet off to the side, against the wall near the door into each person's respective bedroom. Tycho faced the mirror at first, then noticed the door behind him leading into the rest of the refresher. He poked his head into the other part of the room and took a quick look at the toilet and shower, which both seemed just slightly better than what he was used to in the pilots' barracks. Then again, anything he didn't have to share with dozens of people was better by leaps and bounds in his book. He noticed several bottles and bars of things already stored by the bathtub. His roommate appeared to be a bit high-maintenance.

Tycho turned back to the sinks and mirror, and took a good look at his roommate's half of the counter. His eyes widened a bit as he finally acknowledge the sheer number of bottles and boxes and containers there, all of them marked in unfamiliar writing. Most of them seemed to be filled with liquids, creams, and powders in various shades of blue and black. In fact, they looked suspiciously like some of the cleansers, lotions, and cosmetics he had seen his mother and sisters use, except for the color, of course. He looked around as thought checking to see if he was being watched, then surreptitiously pumped a drop of thick blue liquid from one of the bottles onto his hand. It was like nothing he had ever felt before – thick and creamy, and when he rubbed it on his skin it just sort of sat there and gave his hand a bluish tint rather than disappearing as it was absorbed. As the cream dried, he noticed that it took on a smooth, velvety finish. He quite liked it. But for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be or do. After all, blue would really stand out on someone who wasn't blue...Maybe his roommate was blue.

He quickly scrubbed the strange blue cream off of his hand and scurried back to his bedroom to get a towel, which he hung on the towel rod by his cabinet when he was finished with it, then set about unpacking his things and putting them away, pondering his roommate's strange collection of self-care items the whole time. He had just finished putting away the last of his shirts when he heard sounds in the living room, and decided to go investigate.

A taller, well-built man had arrived, and currently had his back to Tycho as he unbuttoned his jacket and slid it off to hang on a peg by the door. Tycho noticed that his hands and neck were bright blue, almost exactly the same shade as the stuff in the refresher. His guess about his roommate's skin color had been correct. He wondered if his guess about the items being cosmetics was correct too.

He was also absolutely certain he had never seen this man before in his life. He would have noticed someone so blue and...and...

Sexy.

Tycho stayed in the doorway of his room and cleared his throat a little to let the other man know he was there. And he was glad he did, because when the other man turned to see who had made the noise, he discovered something he hadn't expected at all – his roommate's eyes were red, completely red, and seemed to glow. They didn't even have a pupil that Tycho could see. It was a bit unnerving. But he was determined to make this work, and somehow he sensed that his new roommate wouldn't take kindly to Tycho flinching away in fear because of glowing red eyes. So even though he was surprised enough to take an involuntary step back, he did his best to fix his gaze on the face with the glowing red eyes.

"Hi," he finally said, when he had regained enough sense and composure to speak. "Um. I'm Tycho Celchu. Guess we're roommates now." He paused, but the other didn't speak. He just stared at Tycho as though sizing him up. "So...I'm a pilot...you probably knew that already, they must have told you guys you were getting pilot roommates after the fire." Again he paused, and again there was no response beyond a slight twitch of a perfect blue-black eyebrow above a glowing red eye. "I'm from Alderaan...you must not be from anywhere I'm familiar with, I would know if I had seen people like you before." The eyebrow positively shot up at that remark, and Tycho could have sworn that the skin around the other's eyes tensed. "A-anyway," he said, holding his hands up a bit, "if we're going to be roommates we both have to work at making this work, right? So...it's okay if you don't want to talk to me just yet, but..." He crossed the room to where the other man stood and extended his hand, "...can we at least shake on it? You know, on the promise to both work to make it work?"

The other man hesitated, then took Tycho's offered hand and shook it, brushing the pad of his thumb over the back of Tycho's hand. "There, that's good," Tycho said, looking up a bit to give the other man a small smile. "Well anyway, I should go get changed for dinner, the pilots always have a big welcome dinner when the new year starts and since this is going to be my last one I shouldn't miss it."

Tycho was practically through the door of his room when the other man spoke. "Celchu," he said. Tycho paused and turned back, to see the other man giving him an appraising look. "The cream goes on your face, not your hand. But I think it would be a wasted effort for you, as blue is hardly going to blend in on _your_ face." He paused and his lips twitched into a small smirk. "Especially not if you're blushing like that."

Tycho let out a small squeak of surprise and quickly shut the door behind himself. He changed his clothes, then waited until he could hear his roommate moving around in their shared refresher before scurrying off to dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 

     “I’ll tell you, he’s a kriffing genius. He should be teaching the damn class, but old Vrezif there isn’t going to retire anytime soon.”

 

     “Can’t imagine he likes having his ass handed to him by an _alien_ every day though.”

 

     A snort. “Hell no. He hates it. Thrawn isn’t about to stop though. He knows he’s right and he’s not going to let some old geezer past his prime tell him otherwise.”

 

     Tycho paused by the little knot of officer cadets and frowned a bit. From the sounds of it, they were talking about his new roommate. He would have loved to be involved in that conversation, but the officer cadets were notoriously cliquish at the lunch tables. Still, sticking his neck out a bit might be worth it in this case, if it meant getting some information.

 

     He turned to face the table and stood behind the one empty chair there. “Hey,” he said, “Mind if I sit?”

 

     Four cadets turned to blink at him. All four scowled for a second, then one gasped a little, eyes widening in surprise, and he nudged the empty chair with his foot. “You’re his new roommate, aren’t you?” the cadet said. “The pilot who got stuck with Thrawn?”

 

     “I guess,” Tycho said, stepping back just far enough to pull the chair out and sitting down. He glanced over at the pilots’ table he usually sat at and caught his friend Keton frowning at him. He shook his head a little and Keton shrugged, then turned his attention to his meal. Tycho would explain what was going on later. “He’s the blue alien, right?”

 

     “Only alien here,” a different cadet said. “I’m Peeta, and these guys are Davis, Toved, and Veers.”

 

     “No relation to the active-duty officer,” Veers added as he shook Tycho’s hand.

 

     “Nice to meet you. I’m Tycho Celchu...guess you guys go by last names around here,” he said. He shook Toved’s hand last and finally dug into his food. “So what’s the story with...what did you call him? Thrawn?”

 

     “Thrawn,” Davis confirmed. “And he’s a genius. He should be teaching our classes.”

 

     “All of them?” Tycho asked.

 

     Peeta shrugged. “At least the tactical ones. I’m telling you, Celchu, I don’t know what species he is or where he came from but I hope to all the deities that may or may not exist that he’s an unusual specimen, because if there are more of him out there and they ever get mad at us we’re _dead_. Completely and utterly dead. And we won’t even know what hit us until it’s too late.”

 

     Tycho nodded and sipped at his soup. It was terribly bland, as usual, but at least it was filling. “So who does he hang out with around here? And has he been here all this time? I’m graduating this year and I’ve never seen him before.”

 

    “Nah, that’s because he wasn’t here before,” Toved said. “I was in the summer program this year and he was there. They have him on some kind of accelerated track. I think he was an officer wherever he comes from, or something.”

 

     “He doesn’t hang out with anyone though,” Veers added. “I was in the summer program with Toved and he never ate with us, ever. I think he goes to his quarters for meals.”

 

     Tycho pondered this new information and nodded slowly. He had found food in the refrigeration unit and in the cupboards that morning while hunting for some caf to help him wake up. It wasn’t food like he had ever seen, and something he had opened thinking it was caf had smelled so awful he couldn’t imagine how anyone could eat it. But given the attitude towards non-humans in the Empire – an attitude most of the cadets here shared – Tycho couldn’t fault Thrawn for wanting to have _some_ peace during the day. “So what, people don’t like him?”

 

     “Eh, well, he’s not human, is he?” Peeta asked. Clearly, he fell more in line with the Empire’s view on aliens than Tycho did. “And he’s too smart. Nobody wants to hang around someone like that.”

 

     The rest of lunch turned towards topics Tycho couldn’t fully comprehend, so he finished quickly and excused himself. The four officer cadets shook his hand again and said he was welcome to join them for meals any time. Tycho promised he would, though in his own mind he promised he wouldn’t do it without dragging Keton along for company, and went off to put his tray in the cleaning line. On his way out of the cafeteria, he stopped to grab two helpings of dessert – cookies today, some Corellian recipe he wasn’t familiar with but thought looked good – and headed back to his new quarters.

 

     When he got there, he paused and knocked on the door before fishing his key out of his pocket. “You in there?” he called. When he got no answer, he added, “I hope you’re decent, I’m coming in.” And he slid his card in the lock without any further warning.

 

     The door opened to reveal Thrawn, in the kitchen, his uniform jacket off and draped over the back of the couch, leaving him in just his uniform pants and the tight black undershirt he wore under the jacket. He was obviously in the midst of cooking lunch, though he had paused long enough to look back over his shoulder as Tycho walked in. “Do people often cook in the nude where you’re from?” he asked by way of greeting.

 

     Tycho laughed and shook his head, stepping out of the range of the door sensors so it would slide shut behind him. “Only the really kinky ones,” he said. Thrawn tilted his head a little, but Tycho didn’t catch the movement. “I didn’t see you at lunch, so I brought you some dessert,” he said, holding up the cookies for Thrawn to see before setting them on the table. “They look good, didn’t want you to miss out.”

 

     Thrawn frowned a little and turned towards Tycho, crossing his arms over his chest and studying the human suspiciously. “...why?” he finally asked.

 

     “Because they’re good,” Tycho replied, snagging a cookie and popping it into his mouth. “What’re you cooking? I hope it has more flavor than the cafeteria food...”

 

      “I’m sure it does,” Thrawn answered, but he turned back to his cooking without elaborating on what, exactly, he was making.

 

     Tycho waited around awkwardly for a few more minutes, eating his share of the cookies as he watched Thrawn cook. When Thrawn finally made his lunch – exactly one plate of food, not even a drop of sauce left over for anyone else – Tycho decided that he would be pushing it to try to stay any long. “Well, I have to go meet my squadron before class,” he said. It wasn’t true, really, but he did feel he owed them an explanation for not eating with them. “I’ll see you tonight.” He left before Thrawn could really answer.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “So how goes life with tall blue and silent?” Keton asked.

 

     Tycho shook his head as he set his lunch tray down across from his friend and settled into his seat. “Silently,” he said. “Thrawn barely talks.” Which was a shame, really. He had such a gorgeous accent when he _did_ talk...

 

     The Alderaanian pilot shook his head and poked at his food a little. It had been about a week since he had moved in with Thrawn, and even though the alien didn’t talk much, Tycho really did think he had learned a lot about the man. For example, Thrawn couldn’t seem to last more than twelve hours without a shower, and usually showered in the morning before school and at night before bed. Tycho wondered how he was allowed to get away with that, since the rest of them were usually expected to bathe once a day in just a few minutes. Either being able to bathe as often and for as long as one wished were perks of living the officer cadets’ barracks he hadn’t known about before, or the commanders didn’t know about Thrawn’s bathing habits. Or they knew, and were too afraid of their non-human student to say anything.

 

     Tycho had also learned that Thrawn cooked all of his own meals with food brought in by someone just for him. The mysterious someone went to great lengths to get food from Thrawn’s home region. Tycho assumed it was expensive. That was better than assuming that Thrawn was just rude and unwilling to share. Then again, it was entirely possible he didn’t realize how his behavior with food appeared to Tycho. The human pilot wondered what would happen if he brought in some food and cooked for himself someday, but didn’t offer any to his roommate. Or even better, what would happen if he cooked for both of them and insisted that Thrawn join him for dinner?

 

     A third thing he had learned was that Thrawn didn’t seem to sleep much. That, or he slept with the lights on sometimes. Tycho had seen the light from beneath Thrawn’s bedroom door sometimes when he had woken up to use the refresher in the middle of the night, and a few times he had noticed lights on in the living room well into the night too. Of course, he had no idea what Thrawn did on those late nights, but whatever it was didn’t make much noise. Maybe he was up late studying or typing reports or something.

 

     Unfortunately, Tycho didn’t know anything about Thrawn that was actually interesting or useful, like his hobbies, his age, whether he was single or not, if he had relatives, or really anything else that he would have liked to know about his roommate.

 

     Well, okay, he knew Thrawn wore some kind of makeup. But that wasn’t quite the “interesting” Tycho was going for.

 

     “So how can you say you’re getting along if you don’t even talk?” Keton asked, interrupting Tycho’s thoughts.

 

     He shrugged. “We haven’t killed each other yet. That’s a start, right?” That earned a laugh from the gathered pilots, and then the group turned their attention to other things. Tycho caught his friend giving him a worried look, though. He couldn’t blame Keton. The pilots weren’t used to being separated like this and they were all worried about each other, but most of their concern seemed to focus on Tycho, since they had apparently decided that he had the strangest living arrangement of the bunch. Tycho loved his squad mates like brothers, but never failed to be disappointed at how speciesist some of them could be. Especially Keton.

 

     He was just about to join in the conversation when he noticed a blur of blue from the corner of his eye. Looking towards the salad bar, he blinked in surprised. Thrawn was standing stiffly in line, tray held before him and a look of utter revulsion plastered on his normally attractive face as he forced himself through the line. Tycho stared, slack-jawed, as Thrawn retrieved a salad, a bowl of soup, an entrée, a drink, and some dessert, and then marched his way over to an empty table in the corner and plopped down in the one of the chairs facing the windows, so his back was to the crowded cafeteria. He didn’t touch his food, just stared out the window. Tycho wondered if he thought waiting would make it more palatable.

 

     “I’ll see you guys later,” he muttered, and without another word he got up from his seat, taking his tray of partly-eaten lunch with him, and wove his way through the crowded tables to join Thrawn. “Mind if I sit?” he asked when he arrived, nodding to the empty seat across from his roommate.

 

     Thrawn gave him a stiff nod, but didn’t say anything or look at him until Tycho sat down, blocking his line of sight to the garden beyond the window. His eyes flicked over Tycho’s face, but he still didn’t say anything.

 

     “Never thought I’d see you down here,” Tycho ventured, dipping his spoon back in his soup and fishing around for a chunk of bruallci he had seen earlier. “Thought you might be lonely sitting over here all by yourself.”

 

     He wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Thrawn stiffened even more. “So what brings you down here?” Tycho asked, choosing to ignore that. After all, if Thrawn had wanted to be alone, he could have just said so.

 

     “...I am out of food and decided it was better to brave the perils of the cafeteria than go hungry,” he said, just as Tycho was about to give up (again) on getting a reply. He too poked a spoon into his soup, lifted a piece of something that might have at one time been a root vegetable, and delicately popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, the look of disgust on his face deepened until he looked positively murderous. “Perhaps I was mistaken about the benefits of cafeteria food over going hungry,” he said flatly once he had swallowed.

 

     Tycho stifled a laugh, but couldn’t hide his grin, and nodded. “You’re telling me, it’s awful. Hope it’s not this bad on the Star Destroyers.”

 

     “ _My_ people would never _dream_ of feeding such tasteless gruel to their soldiers,” Thrawn snapped. “We _respect_ our soldiers and treat them with _dignity_ , and every young Chiss _dreams_ of becoming a soldier and serving the Ascendency someday. It is both our highest duty and highest honor.”

 

     When he finished, he and Tycho just _stared_ at each other, Tycho’s mouth open and another spoonful of soup part-way to it, while the look on Thrawn’s face slowly shifted from one of anger to horror. It was the most he had ever said to Tycho in one sitting, and it was the most information he had ever provided about himself at once too. Finally, he scowled and set his spoon down, picked up his fork, and stabbed violently at the mystery meat that made up his main course. “But why am I telling _you_ this,” he muttered.

 

     “Well, we _are_ roommates,” Tycho reasoned. “I figure we don’t have to become best friends forever, but it would be kind of nice if we could, you know, talk about things sometimes. I mean, I want to. Don’t you want to have friends out here? People you can talk to and trust?”

 

     Thrawn fixed him with another glare, and the only thing keeping Tycho from flinching away was that he was getting used to the glowing eyes. “Why do you care?” Thrawn asked him. “Anyone else here would take the information I just gave you and find a way to ruin me with it. Why should I believe you’re _any_ different?”

 

     “Why should you believe I’m just like them?” Tycho countered. “You don’t even know me, because you haven’t even tried to. You’re just assuming I’m going to be an ass and try to hurt you, or whatever you’re afraid of, and you know something?” He paused to make sure he had Thrawn’s undivided attention. “You might hate the people here who judge you and put you in a box right away just because you’re different, but by assuming the worst of me without even trying to see if it’s true first you’re being just as bad as the jerks you hate.”

 

     At first, Thrawn didn’t say anything, and Tycho thought he had just made the man – Chiss? – even angrier. But dammit, he was mad too now. All this time Thrawn hadn’t been quiet because he was shy or introverted or ashamed of his accent or whatever, he had been avoiding Tycho because he was being a speciesist ass himself. Was there never any escape from that bantha poodoo around here?

 

     Finally, though, Thrawn just gave him a small nod. “My apologies,” he said, voice as cool and composed as ever. “You are of course correct. I am ashamed for not realizing this before.”

 

     “Good. And it’s alright, I mean...to be honest, odds are you were going to wind up with a xenophobic, anti-alien roommate. Just...give me a chance before deciding you can’t stand to even look at me, alright?”

 

     The other man’s lips twitched, and for a moment Tycho caught a hint of a smile there. “Of course. But my comments about this absolutely disgusting excuse for food still stand. If I had to eat here every day I would waste away to nothing in a matter of weeks.”

 

     Tycho laughed. “We could cook in our room, you know.” Thrawn just gave him an incredulous look, so Tycho continued, “No really. You already do it, right, what would be so hard about us taking turns and cooking enough for two?”

 

     “...I suppose refraining from pre-judging you include not pre-judging your cooking skills?” Thrawn’s lips were twitching again.

 

     “Hey, I’m a way better cook than the kitchens here,” Tycho said. “And Alderaanian food is good. You can actually tell what the meat is supposed to be, for starters.”

 

     Thrawn ducked his head, and for a second Tycho thought he had said something wrong, but then he realized his roommate was actually laughing. Quietly, face down so nobody could see, but he was still laughing. Tycho grinned in triumph. Finally, he had made some kind of connection. Life in the barracks was about to become much less awkward.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tycho experiences awkwardness of epic proportions.

**Chapter 3**

The lack of awkwardness lasted less than a day. The moment his classes ended that day, Tycho returned to his room to wait for Thrawn, then dragged the other man to the on-base shop to look for some ingredients they could both agree on. He suggested that they start with cooking breakfast for each other in the mornings as a way to ease into their new cooking and eating arrangement. Thrawn agreed to the idea, but he turned out to be a less than pleasant shopping companion. He followed Tycho through the shop, looking slightly sulky and muttering under his breath in a language Tycho couldn’t even identify, and would only show his acceptance of the items Tycho suggested with a curt nod.

 

     Finally, Tycho couldn’t take the muttering anymore. He stopped dead in the middle of an aisle and whirled around to face Thrawn, who barely managed to stop in time to avoid hitting Tycho. “ _What_ is your problem?” Tycho hissed. “We’re supposed to be shopping for food we can both agree on.”

 

     “I _hate_ shopping,” Thrawn groused. “I haven’t had to do my own shopping in years.”

 

     “Well, you’re a cadet again. A little food shopping won’t kill you. So stop muttering about it. Or teach me your language so I can at least understand you, for all I know you’re plotting my murder back there.”

 

     Thrawn’s eyebrow twitched as he considered how best to respond to Tycho. Finally, he settled for, “My language is nearly impossible for humans to speak.”

 

    “Never hurts to try,” Tycho countered. “Now come on, one more thing and we can get out of here.”

 

     Tycho grabbed the one more thing they needed and paid as quickly as he could, then they returned to their quarters with their stash of food. Fortunately, Thrawn carried his share of the bags with no question, and he stopped muttering too. The rest of the day was filled with each of them shut away in their respective rooms, working on their assignments for their classes. Tycho eventually left for dinner with his friends in the cafeteria, and he only saw Thrawn for a few minutes after he returned. They chatted aimlessly for a few minutes while cleaning the kitchen from the aftermath of Thrawn’s cooking, and then both went off to bed.

 

     The next morning, Tycho rose early to cook for them. Thrawn eventually made an appearance, settling down at the table in nothing but his undershirt and boxers, and watched Tycho cook with the sort of skeptical expression most people would have reserved for observations of the truly bizarre and unbelievable. But he didn’t interfere, and when he finally got a chance to taste his breakfast even he had to admit it was good. Definitely better than the cafeteria.

 

     “But you still like your own food better,” Tycho prompted as he watched Thrawn delicately working his way through a plate filled with eggs, thinly-sliced breakfast meat, and a small mold of crystal-clear gelatin with fruit pieces suspended in it.

 

     Thrawn nodded as he picked the gelatin mold apart to get at the fruit. “Isn’t that natural? To prefer your own peoples’ cuisine to others?”

 

     “I guess,” Tycho said. “But I mean, we ate more than just Alderaanian food on Alderaan...”

 

     “We eat Chiss food in Chiss space,” Thrawn replied. “I have never eaten anything else until now.”

 

     Tycho paused and watched Thrawn successfully retrieve some fruit from the gelatin. It had never occurred to him that Thrawn had only eaten one cuisine his entire life, and that the change to never getting to eat it unless he cooked it himself might be a huge change. The human wondered if eating was usually a social activity for Chiss, like it often was among his own people. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be completely separated from familiar food and the camaraderie that came with sharing a meal with friends or relatives.

 

      It forced him to wonder what else Thrawn had left behind.

 

     Eventually, Thrawn extracted all of the fruit from his gelatin, finished the rest of his meal, and disappeared to shower. Tycho cleaned up the kitchen a little and was just going to finish dressing for the day when their door’s alarm unit beeped, and then the door slid open and the laundry droid trundled in. The laundry droid was yet another luxury Tycho had never been lucky enough to deal with in the pilots’ barracks. He and the other pilots usually had to take their dirty laundry somewhere to have it cleaned. Here, the future officers had the laundry service come to them. Tycho knew that their clean laundry would be returned to them later that evening if he could give it to the droid now.

 

     “Just a second,” he told it. “I have to get the laundry.” The droid beeped an acknowledgement and Tycho went off to retrieve his laundry. On the way back, he glanced over at Thrawn’s door. Surely his roommate had laundry that needed cleaning...but Thrawn was in the shower...Desperate times called for desperate measures. Tycho took a quick detour to Thrawn’s room, intending to dart in and find the laundry as quickly as he could, but Thrawn was still a bit paranoid it seemed. His door was locked, as always. Tycho sighed and gave his laundry to the droid. “Not done yet,” he said, and darted back into his own room. He stepped into the shared part of the bathroom and pounded on the door to the shower. “THRAWN. Laundry droid’s here. Have anything to go out?”

 

     “In a minute!” came the muffled and slightly annoyed reply. Tycho couldn’t blame him for being annoyed, but then, it wasn’t his fault the droid had shown up now either. Tycho just shook his head and wandered back out to the living room.

 

     While he and the droid waited, he busied himself with packing the last of his things he needed for the day. He was just about to give up on waiting for Thrawn and to just leave for his classes when, finally, the door to Thrawn’s quarters opened and the other man emerged with his laundry.

 

     And a towel, which he was using on his damp hair. And absolutely nothing else on.

 

     Thrawn dropped his laundry into the droid’s waiting receptacle. The droid, of course, neither knew nor cared that the man in front of it was naked. It merely tweeted a cheerful acknowledgement that it had received the appropriate laundry and trundled off. Tycho, on the other hand, was very much aware that Thrawn was naked, and though under any other circumstances he would have admitted that staring at his naked roommate was rude, he just _couldn’t stop staring_. Thrawn was clearly fresh out of a hot shower, with little droplets of water clinging to his skin and a bit of steam rising into the relatively cool air of their living room. He had the most perfect build Tycho had ever seen, from his perfectly-proportioned shoulders to his narrow waist and...and...goodness, everything really _was_ blue, even his –

 

     “Enjoying the view?”

 

     Thrawn’s voice cut through Tycho’s thoughts like a vibroblade, causing the human to jerk his head up in surprise. Thrawn was eyeing him, one perfect eyebrow raised and a small, knowing smirk playing over his lips. “I...uh...I mean...it’s just...I wasn’t...” Tycho stammered.

 

     Thrawn let his eyes wander from Tycho’s face, down his body to his crotch, and then back up again. “I think that’s a yes,” he said calmly. But when he turned to go back to this room, Tycho could have sworn there was a bit of a teasing sway in the way he walked. For his part, Tycho gulped and ran from the room as fast as he could, face burning red with the knowledge that he had been staring, had _enjoyed_ staring, and had _been caught enjoying_ it.

 

***   ***   ***

 

      “The hell is wrong with _you_?” Keton asked when Tycho finally arrived in the enormous lecture hall the pilots met in for their classes.

 

     “What do you mean, the hell is wrong with me?” Tycho replied, making a great show of huffing and puffing. If his face was still red, he wanted a plausible explanation that didn’t involve his roommate’s naked body.

 

     “You didn’t have that far to run,” Keton said. “...and your pants aren’t fitting so well this morning.”

 

     “Keton, only a perv would notice something like that.”

 

     The other pilot shrugged. “Hey, not my fault I’m observant. So who’s the chick? Can’t be someone on base, there aren’t any, ‘cept for some of the staff...it’s that nurse in the med center, isn’t it, the one who gave you the meds for your flu? She was hot.”

 

    “Yeah, nice,” Tycho replied. “I hope the lecture isn’t boring today...”

 

     Keton shrugged. “We have a guest speaker. That’s usually fun, right?”

 

     “Except for that one last month. I really did fall asleep during the talk on hyperspace route plotting.”

 

     “I noticed,” Keton replied dryly. “Especially since you drooled all over my shoulder.”

 

     Tycho winced. “Better than snoring, right?”

 

     Keton didn’t get a chance to answer, for at that moment the lights over their seats dimmed and one of the commanders took a spot at the lecturer’s podium. “I’ll keep this brief,” he said, and even from where he sat Tycho noticed that the man seemed irritated. “It has recently been brought to my attention that certain parties at this fine academy believe you have been receiving the wrong information about the Outer Rim and what lies beyond.” He paused, eyes fixed on someone in the front row of seats, then he raised his eyes to look at the gathered pilots. “Today our...guest...is here to begin correcting this problem. Please welcome Officer Cadet Thrawn.”

 

     _Oh no. No no no this is awful,_ why _is he here?_ Tycho moaned a little and tried to slouch down in his seat, wishing fervently that he could melt into the floor. At this point, anything would be less awkward than facing Thrawn in public. _Sithspawn, just my luck, isn’t it?_

 

     Keton, unfortunately, noticed Tycho’s odd behavior, and kept throwing confused looks at him. When that didn’t do anything, he started poking Tycho in the arm with the stylus he was using to take notes on his datapad. After the fifth poke, Tycho swatted his hand. Keton let up on his torment for a few moments, then started hissing at Tycho to sit up. Tycho just glared at him and refused to sit up any. Finally, Keton seemed content...and then he _gasped_ and stared down at Tycho. The Alderaanian blinked at him, then tried to slouch even further. That look from his friend did not bode well.

 

     “Oh my _god_ , it’s _not_ the nurse from the med center, is it?” Keton whispered in Tycho’s ear.

 

     “Shut _up_ , Keton,” Tycho grumbled. “Stop pestering me, you’ll get us both in trouble.

 

     But Keton was good at pestering. “It’s your damn roommate!” he whispered, in a rather louder and more high-pitched whisper than Tycho would have liked. “You have the hots for an _alien_!”

 

     “Keton, I said shut up!” Tycho hissed. The last thing he needed was a rumor getting out that he was bedding a non-human. That kind of thing was a one-way ticket to all kinds of punishments and problems in the Empire.

 

     “Only if you admit I’m right,” Keton replied.

 

     “I swear, keep on like this and by the time I’m through with you—“

 

     “Is there a problem, gentleman?”

 

     For the second time in less than an hour, Thrawn’s voice cut into Tycho’s thoughts. Tycho and Keton both looked down at the Chiss, who was staring up at them. It was too dark for Tycho to make out Thrawn’s expression, but he could clearly see the utter fear on Keton’s face. Clearly, Keton was one who couldn’t handle the glowing red eyes.

 

     Tycho sighed, then forced himself upright again and stared directly into Thrawn’s eyes, as best he could from his seat anyway. “No problem,” he said. “Cadet Rel-Barre here was just asking for some clarification of points. My apologies.”

 

     “Perhaps Cadet Rel-Barre would like to help me with a portion of my presentation?” Thrawn suggested. Tycho winced a little. That was the same tone Thrawn had used on him this morning. “If not,” Thrawn continued, “perhaps he could hold his questions for later.”

 

     Keton let out a whimpered, “Yes sir,” and immediately went silent. Tycho just nodded, and Thrawn went back to his presentation.

 

     Things were going to be awkward at the apartment that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick shout-out of thanks to my readers, commenters, and kudos-givers. Also a warning that I am a terribly long-winded writer, and that Chapter 4 here is just about one-tenth of the way through what I have already written of the story...and I'm not done writing yet. So for those of you who like epics, stick around, we're gonna have some FUN.

**Chapter 4**

 

     At first, when Tycho entered his apartment after dinner that night, he thought he had somehow beaten Thrawn home. All of the lights were off and he couldn’t smell anything that indicated Thrawn had been home to cook. He let out a small sigh of relief as he shrugged out of his uniform jacket. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout from the disastrous morning just yet.

 

     “Finally decided to come back, I see.”

 

     Tycho yelped and jumped, whirling around with his hands raised in a defensive posture. There, on the couch, he finally saw them – the tell-tail glowing red eyes that marked Thrawn’s presence. Now that he knew where to look, he could see the dark outline of Thrawn’s body sitting on the couch too. Tycho scowled and reached over to flip the light switch near the door, and the apartment’s glow panels popped to life. “You scared me,” he said.

 

     “Well, you caused quite the scene at my presentation this morning,” Thrawn replied. His face was fixed in a decidedly sour look, and he had his arms crossed over his chest. “I didn’t think you were that kind of person. I expected better of you.”

 

     “First of all, I didn’t even know you were going to be there today. They sprung that on us at the last minute. Second of all, you didn’t know I was _what_ kind of person? And third of all, _I_ wasn’t the one causing problems, it was Keton, so if you want to be mad at someone be mad at him. I was just trying to make him leave me alone.”

 

     Thrawn snorted at him. “You could have handled yourself better. You were clearly discombobulated and disheveled. Even I could see it and I was not that close to you.” He smirked a little, a cold smirk that sent a chill up Tycho’s spine. “Did the sight of my nude body really bother you that much?”

 

     “What? No!” He tried to sound certain, but even to his own ears Tycho’s reply sounded too fast and firm. Definitely a case of protesting too much.

 

     “Then why did you run out of here so quickly? Why did your face turn so red? Why were you still suffering the effects of your emotions when you arrived at the lecture hall?”

 

     Tycho groaned and leaned back against the wall. “Is that what you’re upset about? That I ran out of here this morning? Come on, that’s a totally different issue...make up your mind.”

 

     Thrawn stood up and stalked over to Tycho, then jabbed a single blue finger into his chest and said, “All of it upsets me. Did you not hear when I said you could have handled yourself better?”

 

     “Are you attracted to me?” Tycho asked.

 

     Finally, it was Thrawn’s turn to be confused. “What?”

 

     “Are you attracted to me? Because frankly, that’s the only reason I can see for you being upset that I left after experiencing a sneak nudity attack.”

 

     “Certainly not,” Thrawn replied, though like with Tycho, the response didn’t have the certainty he had clearly hoped it would. “I am Chiss, you are human, it would never work out anyway.”

 

     Tycho shoved Thrawn’s hand away. “And there you going being no better than the Imperials again.”

 

     “Well if _you_ aren’t attracted to _me_ then what difference does it make?” Thrawn countered.

 

     Tycho sighed and ran his hands back through his hair. “Alright, look. I admit it, I got a...a...an...you know...” _God, why is it so hard to just say erection?_ “I got hard. And I was afraid Keton, that’s the guy sitting next to me, noticed. And he _did_ notice something was up and he started teasing me about it, and the thing is...it doesn’t matter how I feel, Thrawn, or if either of us is attracted to the other, this is the Empire. A relationship between a human and a non-human is a one-way ticket to being booted out of the military, and there goes years of my life down the drain if so much as a rumor about us gets out. Even if that rumor isn’t true. Do you understand that?”

 

     “No,” Thrawn snapped, “because I don’t understand how you can be angry at me for accepting the beliefs my people hold about our superiority and still serve an Empire that behaves in a manner you yourself claim is illogical.”

 

     Tycho pondered his words for a moment. He had a point. But really, there was a lot more to Tycho’s Imperial service. “You can serve a government without agreeing with all of its policies,” he finally ventured. “I don’t think it’s right of the Empire _or_ the Chiss to decide that some beings are better and more valuable than others. But the Empire brought stability to the galaxy, has provided a lot of people with safety and a modern life...I can value those things and want to support them without agreeing with every single little policy, can’t I?” He paused and waited for Thrawn’s answer, but when an answer didn’t come for several minutes, he finally prodded, “You didn’t agree with everything in your peoples’ government, did you?”

 

     It was Thrawn’s turn to sigh. “No, of course not. We disagreed on many fundamental issues,” he said.

 

     “And you’re here serving the Empire now, even though you clearly disagree with Imperial views on lots of things.”

 

     “Yes,” the Chiss agreed. “Though my reasons for being here have nothing to do with support for the Empire and everything to do with the safety of my people.”

 

    “Alright, so...what were we arguing about again?”

 

     “Your behavior at my presentation this morning.”

 

     “Right.” Tycho sighed. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to be rude. But do you understand why I had to shut Keton up however I could?”

 

     Thrawn nodded a little. “I believe I do. Apology accepted.”

 

     “Good. And, you know, next time you need to talk to me about something, could you please not sulk in the dark and ambush me when I get home?”

 

     The other man blinked at him. “I was not sulking in the dark,” he said. “Light as bright as humans like it hurts my eyes. The dark is much nicer for me.”

 

     “Okay, well, don’t just sit there in the dark if you need to talk to me. We can get a dim lamp to put next to the couch or something. Would that work?”

 

     Thrawn tapped his chin and slowly nodded. “This is an acceptable compromise.”

 

     “Good. Glad that’s settled.” Tycho rubbed his hands together and looked around awkwardly. “So um. I’m going to go put my things away and go to bed, I could use some extra sleep.”

 

     “Of course,” Thrawn replied. “Will it keep you up if I cook? I haven’t eaten yet.”

 

      Tycho shrugged. “Only if you’re noisy or the food is really smelly.”

 

     “Then I shall try to keep both the noise and the smell down.”

 

     “Great. So um. Sleep well, when you go.” Tycho grabbed his bag and his jacket from where he had dropped them and headed off towards his room.

 

     “Tycho, one more thing.”

 

     The human paused and turned to look at his roommate. Thrawn didn’t use his name very often, so this must have been important. “Yeah?”

 

     “Are you sure you aren’t attracted to me?”

 

     _Oh god, not this again..._ “Thrawn, come on...”

 

     Thrawn gave him a small smile. “It was a poor attempt at a joke. Don’t take it so seriously,” he said softly.

 

     “Oh, right then.” Tycho forced a bit of a laugh before disappearing into his room.

 

     He never noticed the sadness in the smile Thrawn had given him, or the fact that the other man didn’t really bother with much in the way of dinner that night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tycho gets drunk and makes things even more awkward for himself.

**Chapter 5**

 

     Over the next few weeks, Tycho and Thrawn had a civil if somewhat distant relationship as roommates. Progress on the new pilots’ barracks was incredibly slow, though, so every so often Tycho tried to pry Thrawn a bit further out of his shell. It usually failed, and Thrawn was as tight-lipped as ever about himself and his people. That disappointed Tycho, who was terribly curious about the Chiss, and got more curious every day as he observed his blue roommate. He wondered if Thrawn was a typical Chiss. If so, he couldn’t bear to think what might happen if the Chiss ever decided they weren’t happy in their little corner of the Unknown Regions and decided to make their presence felt in the galaxy. Thrawn was nice enough to Tycho, sure, but Tycho was certain the generally polite façade hid something much more dangerous.

 

      Since their relationship was so cool, it never occurred to Tycho to let Thrawn know when he was going to be out late. So the night he came home well past midnight to find Thrawn curled up on the couch, reading through a report on his datapad, was a bit of a shock to both of them.

 

     “I thought you were sleeping,” Thrawn said, glancing up at Tycho as the human made a slightly tipsy entrance.

 

      “I thought you’d be asleep by now,” Tycho replied, stumbling a little as he tried to remove his boots. “...I drank too much. Watch me fall and break my ass or something trying to get these damn boots off.”

 

     Thrawn sniffed the air curiously. “You are drunk?”

 

     “Just tipsy, nothing to worry about,” Tycho said. “Besides, pilots have a day off tomorrow, so I can sleep in.”

 

      “I was unaware that it is customary for pilots to become drunk before their days off.”

 

     Tycho laughed a little and grinned at Thrawn. Gods, but he always sounded so serious about everything. “It’s not. But we had a bunch of birthdays in the ranks this week, so we had a party for everyone.”

 

      Thrawn wrinkled his nose and gave Tycho a disapproving look. “I suppose this frivolous frolicking is the reason you are covered in...in...tiny bits of colored...stuff.”

 

     “Oh yeah, someone brought a confetti cannon,” Tycho replied. He finally sat down at their little kitchen table to tug his boots off, tossed them towards the door, and got up to stumble into the kitchen in search of something to help him sober up. “What’s so frivolous about birthday parties?” he asked.

 

     “Well, existing from year to year is hardly a major accomplishment,” Thrawn replied. “We do not celebrate anything if it is so...trivial.”

 

     Tycho stood up and turned, his hunt for drinks in the refrigeration unit momentarily forgotten. Finally, it seemed he had a way to get Thrawn to open up a little. But he had to proceed carefully. “It’s...well. To us pilots it’s not so trivial,” he said. “We don’t have the greatest survival rate, you know.”

 

     “You are cadets,” Thrawn replied. “Hardly in the line of fire yet.”

 

     “No, but once we graduate it’ll be a miracle for us to make it past the first year. We’re always counting the months and days until the dangers catch up with us. And we might not be on duty yet, but the seniors like me _are_ flying live TIEs most of the time, not sims. We crash in those things, we don’t walk away like we would in a simulator.”

 

     Thrawn regarded him thoughtfully, datapad resting forgotten in his lap. “Still,” he finally said, “even Chiss pilots do not celebrate birthdays, unless they are milestones. Anything else is seen as trivial.”

 

     Tycho decided to just get some water to drink, and pulled two glasses out of the cupboard. “What are the milestones? I mean, if you don’t mind telling me.”

 

     “Coming of age, fifty, eighty, one hundred,” Thrawn rattled off. “Almost any age past one hundred as well, though most Chiss do not live that long so such celebrations are quite rare.”

 

     The human nodded and made his way to the couch, carrying two glasses of water. He offered one to Thrawn before sitting down at the other end of the couch, tucking his legs up so he could sit sideways and look straight at his roommate. “We have bigger celebrations for the milestones,” he said. “Usually ages like coming of age or reaching the legal drinking age, or twenty-five and fifty, things like that. It depends on the culture. We humans are a diverse bunch.”

 

     “And lacking in discipline,” Thrawn said. “You seem to celebrate everything.”

 

     Tycho chuckled. “Come on, you make your people sound so joyless and dull.”

 

     “Far from it. But we are practical and we pick our celebrations as carefully as we pick our battles.”

 

     “Okay, so what are those carefully-picked celebrations?”

 

     Thrawn sighed and set his datapad down, turned his body a little more towards Tycho, and started counting off on his fingers. “Births – but not birthdays, just the actual births. Some families are known to celebrate conceptions in private but such celebrations are considered premature and ridiculous. Coming of age, as I mentioned. Entrance into the military academies or the universities is usually marked with a public ceremony for the students of each institution and can be quite elaborate, especially at the most prestigious schools. Graduation is of course an elaborate affair at all schools. Military and political promotions may be marked with ceremonies of varying levels of excess depending on the rank. For example, when I became a commander of my picket force, the ceremony was quite small, but when the current Admirals became Admirals the ceremony was long and complex and broadcast throughout the fleet so those who could not attend in person could still view it. Traditional weddings are quite long and elaborate, but also quite expensive, so most people these days opt for a small party with their families rather than a full ceremony. Funerals are similar. The retirement of an Admiral, General, or Aristocra is marked with a large celebration.”

 

     Tycho waved a hand to stop him. “Wait, Aristocra?”

 

     “They are the heads of the ruling Houses,” Thrawn explained. “Surviving to retirement age is quite an accomplishment. They are frequent targets of assassinations.”

 

     “I see.” Tycho fell silent long enough to gulp down most of his water, then said, “Just so you know, most of the stuff you mentioned? We humans celebrate those things too.”

 

     “Do you?” Thrawn asked. He seemed genuinely curious.

 

     “Yeah, of course,” Tycho answered. “Why wouldn’t we? Those things are all a big deal to whoever is involved.”

 

     Thrawn pondered. “I suppose the scale of celebrations may be different...”

 

     “I doubt it,” Tycho said. “Your people seem to have a gift for promoting a view of yourselves as different and superior, though.”

 

     Thrawn’s eyebrow twitched, but he just regarded Tycho calmly. “You have a gift for saying things that grate on me.”

 

     Tycho shrugged. “Some things need saying and some of them aren’t pleasant. I see you’re not denying my point.”

 

     “Should I? You are not incorrect.”

 

     “Well, there you go, even you acknowledge it.”

 

     “What would you say if I said my people have proof of our superiority?”

 

     “I would say the Empire says the same thing about humans.”

 

     Thrawn laughed. “Alright, alright. You win. Happy now?”

 

     Tycho nodded and grinned. “Yeah, but not for the reason you think.”

 

     Thrawn’s smile faded a little and his eyebrow twitched upward. “Oh?”

 

     Tycho leaned over and poked a finger at his chest. “I finally learned something about you. You’re so tight-lipped about your people and yourself. I can’t read you at all. It’s nice to know _something,_ even if it’s knowing you’ve never had a proper birthday party in your entire life.”

 

     Thrawn looked away and muttered, “Why do you even _want_ to know anything? What difference does it make to you?”

 

     Tycho leaned back. Why _did_ he care? This whole arrangement was only temporary. Once he moved out of here, he would probably never see Thrawn again, unless they wound up on a ship together. Even then he would only see Thrawn from a distance and he would be the other’s subordinate. In fact, it was entirely possible that Thrawn would someday give the order that would send Tycho to his death. And really when that day came, knowing that Chiss didn’t celebrate birthdays or had weddings so expensive most people avoided them wouldn’t matter at all.

 

     So why bother?

 

    “Because...because I think you like to put on a big scary show for everyone, but I don’t think that’s who you are beneath the surface. I think you put on the face for a reason, and it’s because you’re afraid of what will happen if you’re vulnerable with someone.”

 

     Thrawn snorted. “There was one person in the universe I could ever be ‘vulnerable’ with. He’s dead now.”

 

     “Really?” Tycho tilted his head. “Who was he?” Visions of a torrid but tragic love affair between Thrawn and another male Chiss flashed through his tipsy head, and he had to fight to push them away before anything came of his thoughts.

 

     “My older brother,” Thrawn replied.  His expression had gone totally blank, but even Tycho could sense the struggle for control going on in his head.

 

     “I’m sorry,” Tycho said. “I didn’t even know you had a brother.”

 

     “Of course not, I never told you,” Thrawn replied.

 

     They sat in silence for a few moments, then Tycho, feeling emboldened by the fact that Thrawn hadn’t gotten mad at him yet, said, “I have two sisters and a brother. I’m the second one. Mia’s older than me, and Skoloc and Pala are younger. I don’t get to see them much anymore, Mia works and I’m here and Skoloc is going to the university soon.”

 

     “...do you miss them?”

 

     “Of course I do. But it’s nice knowing they’re off living their lives the way they want, and they support me being here.”

 

     Thrawn nodded slowly. “Sometimes I think it’s better for Thrass to be dead. I don’t think he would have known what to do with himself, with me being out here and him stuck back home and unable to keep an eye on me. At least this way he doesn’t know what’s coming if I fail.”

 

     “What’s coming if you fail?”

 

     “...That’s not important right now.” Thrawn waved Tycho’s question away. “But I miss him. Sometimes he annoyed me so much, and I felt like he treated me like a child...I guess we never appreciate what we have until we no longer have it.”

 

     Tycho gave him a small smile and reached out to pat his arm. When Thrawn didn’t move away, he said, “How do you think Thrass would feel about your situation now?”

 

     Thrawn pursed his lips. “Pleased I was being useful, upset I was so far from home, proud I was able to make such a difficult decision and stick to it. I think.”

 

     “And how would he feel about you living with a human?”

 

     Thrawn turned to grin at him. “Oh, Thrass would wonder what I had gotten myself into, but he would just shake his head and put up with it. This time, anyway, I don’t think he was terribly pleased about my relationship with the humans who taught me your language.”

 

     “And how would he feel about you locking yourself away from everyone and not having any real friends around here?”

 

     Thrawn shook his head. “That I don’t know. He never had a problem with my social life before, but...I was among our people then, it was different.”

 

     Tycho nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I’m not Thrass, but speaking as an older brother I would be pretty upset if I found out Pala or Skoloc were avoiding people.”

 

     “You think I am avoiding people on purpose?”

 

     “Well aren’t you? You don’t have the most positive view of anyone here, you know. You even thought badly of me when we met. All of my friends tonight were wondering why you didn’t come to the party too. They thought we would be closer by now and that you would come with me.”

 

     “Nobody invited me,” Thrawn pointed out.

 

     “That’s my fault, it was up to me to ask you,” Tycho said. “But you don’t seem like you _want_ to do anything like that.”

 

     “I _do_ have a lot of work to do...”

 

     It was Tycho’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “So much that you can’t come out once every couple of weeks and party with the guys?”

 

     “Tycho,” Thrawn said softly. The way he said it brought a light blush to Tycho’s cheeks. There was just something so intimate about it, so warm, that he hadn’t expected. “You know better than I your Empire’s policies about non-humans, and how people treat us. How safe do you really think it is for me to, er, ‘party with the guys’?”

 

     “How about if I bring some of my friends here? People I trust. It’ll be fun.”

 

     “But what will we _do_?” Thrawn asked, genuinely bewildered by the thought of a party.

 

     “Drink? Play games? Watch holovids? Wynnsa Starflare has a new vid out, she’s hot, you would like her.”

 

      Thrawn gave him a wry smile. “You think you know my taste in women well enough to say that?”

 

     Tycho laughed. “Not yet, but she’s not a bad actress either. But anyway, forget about her, what do you say to my idea?”

 

     Thrawn pondered, nose scrunching up a little as he seemed to weigh every possible pro and con of partying with Tycho. He took so long that the human was nearly dozing off when he finally said, “Alright. Once. If it fails, never again. Fair enough?”

 

      “Of course. Next free day for pilots is next week. You officers have one too then, right?”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “We do.”

 

     “Then it’s a date.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The night of the party came faster than Thrawn expected, and he spent most of the day with a rather tense look on his face. Chiss simply didn’t party for no reason. The very idea went against every fiber of his being. He had no idea how Tycho had managed to talk him into agreeing to this, but there was no way he could back out now.

 

     At the appointed hour, Thrawn was sitting stiffly on the couch, in the most casual clothing he could find for the evening. He tried to think of just how a human party-for-no-reason might go, but was at a bit of a loss to think of anything as he had never seen such a party before. Finally, the door to the apartment slid open, and Tycho appeared with his friends and several bags of party supplies. “Thank the Force the walls are thick here, we can get loud,” he was saying to his friends as they spilled in.

 

     “Hey, I’m Keton,” one said, extending his hand to Thrawn. “Tycho’s friend.”

 

     Thrawn just gave Keton an incredulous look, and Tycho laughed. “Don’t, Keton, he’s nervous enough as it is. One weird human custom at a time.”

 

     Keton just shrugged and went to help Tycho find cups for their drinks and plates for their snacks, while the others gathered on the floor, couch, and their two lone dining chairs to watch holo vids. Thrawn evacuated his spot on the couch in favor of a spot on the floor, slightly outside the group of chattering humans.

 

     Tycho had to shout at first to get their attention. “Alright, we have Forvish ale, some kind of Whyren’s Reserve knockoff ‘cause the original is too damn expensive, beers from all over, Alderaanian wine, and...lots of food. Help yourselves. Hey, what are we watching first?”

 

     Thrawn sat through two different holo movies, each one punctuated by long discussions of the merits of the plot and the assets of various characters, most of them female. Tycho mostly avoided those discussions, choosing instead to focus on keeping everyone well supplied with food and drinks. Finally, the second holo ended. Thrawn was just starting to think the party might be over when Keton stood up, clapped his hands together, and declared, “Game time! Let’s pick one that’ll get us good and drunk.”

 

     “That’s what we were supposed to be doing during the movie,” a black-haired pilot countered.

 

     “Supposed to being the key phrase,” a redhead replied. “You picked a crappy drinking game though, Jez, I’m not even buzzed.”

 

     “How about that thing, what’s it called, where you talk about what you haven’t done...” Keton asked.

 

     “Oooh, never have I ever!” the pilot called Jez said. “That’s a good one.”

 

     Thrawn motioned for Tycho to come over and hissed, “What is this game?”

 

     “Oh, it’s just a drinking game,” Tycho said. “Everyone gets a drink, and one person tells something they’ve never done, and if any of the other people _have_ done it, they drink. Then a new person says something they’ve never done, the people who have done it drink, and so on. It’s fun.”

 

     “...Fine. I will most likely be sober by the end of the evening. I cannot imagine we have done many of the same things.”

 

     “Just be a good sport and give it a shot, okay?” Tycho asked. “It’s more fun if you go into it thinking it will be fun.”

 

     “Right.” Thrawn sighed and took a fresh bottle of Forvish ale from Tycho, then shifted his position to join the circle of pilots already waiting to start the game.

 

     Tycho set the remaining drinks in the middle of the circle, then took a spot next to Thrawn. “Who’s first?”

 

     “I’ll go,” Keton said, grabbing a new beer from the middle of the circle. “Never have I ever flown a Headhunter.”

 

     Jez and Tycho both gulped down a drink, and the turn moved on to the redheaded pilot, who said, “Never have I ever been to Coruscant.” He wound up being the only one to not drink, and Keton gave Thrawn a surprised look when he finished his own drink.

 

     “You’ve been to Coruscant?”

 

     “Of course,” Thrawn replied. “It _is_ the seat of your government, is it not?”

 

     “Yes,” Tycho said. “Anyway. Never have I ever kicked someone in the face.”

 

     The night went on, with the pilots trying harder and harder to outdo each other. Just as he had predicted, Thrawn was quite sober through it all. Since he wasn’t a pilot and didn’t share the backgrounds of the pilots, there were lots of things they had done that he hadn’t.

 

     “Runnin’ outta shit I haven’ done,” Jez slurred. “Um. Lemme see...never have I ever met th’Emperor.”

 

     Nobody drank to that, except Thrawn, which elicited shocked gasps from the pilots. “You’re _kidding,_ ” Keton said. “Kriffing _kidding.”_

 

     “I most certainly am not,” Thrawn replied stiffly. He hated being called a liar. “I met him before I was sent here to study. It was his idea.”

 

     “Damn,” Tycho said, shaking his head a little. “Would’ve loved to have been a bug on the wall for that.”

 

     “It was horribly boring, I assure you,” Thrawn said.

 

     “My turn,” Keton said. “Never have I ever been almost killed in battle.”

 

     Thrawn drank again, several sips this time, while the pilots watched. “You’re just a cadet, how the hell have you almost died in battle?” the redhead demanded.

 

     Thrawn huffed. “I’m just a cadet _here_ ,” he said. “Not in my home military.”

 

     “Geez,” Jez muttered.

 

     “Oh, I’ve got a good one!” the redhead exclaimed. “Never have I ever slept with a superior officer!”

 

     At first, nobody drank, and everyone seemed a little disappointed that they weren’t going to get a juicy story out of anyone else that night. Then Thrawn cleared his throat and said, “Could somebody clarify the usage of the phrase ‘slept with’ in this context?”

 

     “Had sex with,” Tycho explained.

 

     “In other words, not much sleeping gets done, if you get my drift,” Keton added.

 

     “Yes, thank you, I understand now,” Thrawn said. The others nodded in satisfaction.

 

     Keton pondered for a moment, then said, “Never have I e – Thrawn. No _way_.”

 

     The others looked over to see Thrawn drinking down the last drops in his bottle, which he set aside before casually reaching for another one.

 

     “Wait wait wait, back up,” Tycho said, reaching out and grabbing Thrawn’s wrist. “How are you not sitting in a brig somewhere for that? Or is your superior officer in the brig?”

 

     “Of course not,” Thrawn replied. “Admiral Ar’Alani is still serving as the head of her portion of the fleet. She may even have accepted a promotion to Admiral of the Fleet by now,” he said.

 

     “ _She?_ ” Keton hissed. “SHE?”

 

     “She,” Thrawn replied. “That is the proper pronoun for the female of the species, correct?”

 

     “How did you get away with it?” Tycho asked. “Nobody else found out?”

 

     Thrawn smiled wryly. “My brother found us the next morning and, from the loudness of his reaction, I am quite certain most of the fleet found out about it eventually.” He shook his head. “My people are not so prudish about these things as you humans. We found each other attractive and neither of us had had intimate relations with others in a long time. The opportunity presented itself. We took it.”

 

     Tycho shook his head. “That takes balls,” he said.

 

     “Among other organs, yes,” Thrawn replied.

 

     “...Joke?” Tycho asked.

 

     “Only partially,” Thrawn answered.

 

     The pilots laughed, and finally moved on. The game lasted until the last of the alcohol had been consumed, leaving four drunk pilots and one buzzed Chiss. Fortunately Thrawn had the presence of mind to call someone to ferry Keton, Jez, and the redhead home. But since Tycho shared his quarters, Thrawn had to deal with him alone.

 

     “Alright you, come on, bed time,” he said, crouching down to pull one of Tycho’s arms over his shoulders and then pulling the other upright as he stood. “You have to walk a little, you know.”

 

     Tycho nodded. “I know,” he said, voice a bit slurred. “Bed’s tha’ way.” He pointed and tried to drag Thrawn in that direction.

 

      Thrawn sighed a little. “Yes, I know where you sleep.”

 

     “Good,” Tycho replied, giving Thrawn a cheeky grin, which the Chiss chose to ignore.

 

     He hauled Tycho into his room and over to the bed, where he carefully set Tycho down. “Alright then. Try not to do anything too embarrassing. I think that Keton friend of yours tried to water the hall plants on the way out. I assure you he had no watering can.”

 

     “Ah, well, he was pretty drunk,” Tycho said, waving his hand and laughing a little.

 

     “You are in no position to talk,” Thrawn replied, though he shook his head and had to fight a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning. It’s my turn to cook.”

 

     He had made it part-way to the door when behind him, Tycho said, “Hey Thrawn?”

 

     Thrawn turned back to face him. “Yes?”

 

     Tycho stood up, took a step towards him, and stumbled. Thrawn darted forward to catch him, and Tycho grinned up at him. “Good catch. ...That’s not what I was gonna say.”

 

     “This can’t wait for the morning?” Thrawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

     “No, ‘cause then I’ll be sober and won’t be brave enough,” Tycho said, looking totally serious. “I just wanted to say you’re the sexiest guy I know, and I thought that even before I saw you naked, but then when I saw you naked I totally wanted to do this but I didn’t have the courage then so I’m going to do it now.” And without warning, he grabbed Thrawn by the back of the head and mashed their lips together in a messy, drunken kiss.

 

     Thrawn had no idea how to respond to that. For a moment, the part of him that was overflowing with joy at the feeling of Tycho’s kiss took over, and his arms wrapped tightly around the human’s waist, holding him in place so he didn’t fall. He returned the kiss fiercely, fighting with Tycho for dominance. But then the rest of his brain caught up with him, and the part that realized Tycho was drunk and not in his right mind gained supremacy. Thrawn jerked back from the kiss and stared at Tycho for a second, then shoved him back to the bed and darted from the room. Tycho was too confused to register what had happened and too drunk to put in the effort to follow. Instead, he lay back on his bed and fell asleep to dream naughty, drunken dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 

     Tycho groaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow to block out the too-bright sunlight filtering in through his bedroom curtains. But that just made it so he couldn’t breathe, which in turn made his headache worse, and eventually he had to give up on that as well. Finally, he rolled onto his side and opened his eyes just enough to squint at the chrono built into his bedside table. It flashed a far-too-cheerful 10:37 at him, and he groaned. Even though it was his day off, Tycho would have much preferred to be out of bed early so he could get some work done between bouts of relaxing. Plus, he was sure the apartment was a mess after the party last night. He didn’t remember taking time to clean up, anyway...

 

     “Oh, crap. Oh, tell me I didn’t really do that,” he groaned, as other memories of the night came flooding back. He scrubbed his hands over his face and paused with them covering his eyes, blocking out the light so he could concentrate. Did he really kiss Thrawn? Or had that been a dream? He had gotten quite drunk and reality had meshed with dreams in a way that made him less than confident in his ability to tell them apart.

 

     Well, he was sure the dream about a threesome involving himself, Thrawn, and a Chiss woman was in fact a dream, since there were no Chiss women here and the Unknown Regions were a hell of a long way away. So that was comforting, at least.

 

     Tycho finally forced himself out of bed and stumbled into the refresher, where he took a long shower and tried to wake up more. He needed to be awake enough to defend himself from Thrawn, at the very least. He was sure his first encounter with the blue-skinned alien would be the most awkward event of his life.

 

     But when Tycho finally emerged from his room, clean and dressed and ready to face the day, it was to find a silent, spotless, and Thrawn-less apartment. There was, however, a covered tray sitting on the kitchen table, and when Tycho went to take a look he noticed something tucked part-way underneath it. He frowned a little and pulled the thing out, and stared. It was a note, hand-written on _real paper_. Tycho didn’t think he had ever written anything on actual paper in his entire life. Where did Thrawn _find_ this stuff?

 

     He opened the note and read it.

 

     _Tycho,_

_I made you breakfast. Hopefully you will be awake in time to eat it hot, it loses something of the proper flavor and texture if you reheat it. Should it be cold by the time you finally rise, consider it a consequence of getting drunk and do consider not doing so again. You humans really cannot hold your liquor. I am pleased my liver is so hardy._

_You will also notice I cleaned up after your friends. Please inform them that the next time they enter our shared living space for a night of debauched revelry, they will be expected to assist with returning it to its original state. I have been studying your peoples’ art and am thrilled to report to you that Alderaanians, at least, seem like a cultured and civilized people. I am certain you will not mind impressing upon your friends how important it is for them to assist in maintaining the neatness of other’s homes. If not, perhaps I will someday be in a position to arrange a week for them on my flagship back home, under the care of my well-trained Chiss crew. This would amuse my crew. Your friends, however, would most likely not enjoy their experience._

_Below you will see that I have drawn you a diagram of your breakfast and marked it in three languages: Basic, Cheunh (my native language – I have taken the liberty of writing in both Cheunh idiographs and a Basic transliteration), and Minnisiat, which is a lingua franca of the Unknown Regions. If we are to share quarters, and if you are to subject me to further instances of surprise kissing, I believe it is only fair for you to attempt to learn at least one of these two languages. You will most likely find speaking Cheunh difficult because Chiss and humans have slightly different vocal abilities, but Minnisiat should not prove too difficult for you. The Corellians I taught it to caught on quickly enough anyway._

_Please note that among my people, it is customary to eat this breakfast starting in the upper-left corner and moving clockwise around the circle, eating one or two bites from each quadrant before moving on to the next. Some people like to combine food from the top two quadrants for a different flavor experience. We also traditionally eat this with a strong caf-like beverage I have been unable to acquire here. Though it is a poor substitute for proper a proper Chiss beverage, caf will have to suffice._

_\-- Thrawn_

_PS: Should you feel moved to kiss me again, at least give me a warning of some sort so I know it is coming._

     By the time he finished the letter, Tycho’s face was burning. At least Thrawn seemed calm about things...then again, he had taken the time to write a rather long letter before leaving the apartment or locking himself in his room. Tycho took a deep breath and went to knock on Thrawn’s bedroom door, but when there was no answer he concluded that Thrawn wasn’t home. He folded the letter and tucked it in his pocket, then went to see about his breakfast. It was stone-cold, so he had to reheat it. He made a cup of caf while he waited, then retrieved some utensils from the drawer and sat down to work his way through a proper (if reheated) Chiss breakfast.

 

     It took him a good half an hour to get through it, quite a long time for someone used to eating speedy breakfasts before classes, and he was quite sure it would burn just as much on the way out as it did on the way in. The Chiss apparently had a taste for spicy food, and Thrawn hadn’t yet figured out that human mouths were a little more delicate than that. He shook his head, feeling a bit sorry for his roommate. Tycho had heard that people who were used to spicy food could eat it and pick out flavors the way Tycho could with the much more mild food of his home planet, but that mild foods tasted very bland to them. It was no wonder Thrawn hated the cafeteria food and still seemed to regard Tycho’s cooking with skepticism.

 

     After his breakfast, Tycho gulped down a cup of blue milk to ease the burning in his mouth, then pulled on his uniform jacket and ventured out in search of Thrawn. At first he wandered through their building aimlessly, wondering if Thrawn had perhaps found a quiet corner to relax in, but every public room in the building was empty. Tycho wondered if Thrawn might have gone to meet one of their instructors, or perhaps was in one of the classrooms. He was part-way to the main building used by the officer cadets when it struck him – of _course_. Thrawn was probably at the _library._ He turned on his heel and marched back the way he had come, but passed their building and instead made his way to a taller building beyond it.

 

     It took him a good while of hunting through the stacks, but eventually he found Thrawn, buried under a pile of work at the back of the little-used art history section. Tycho didn’t even know why their library had an art history section, and hadn’t even known it existed until just now, but he decided to worry about that later and instead decided to focus on how he was going to approach his roommate.

 

     God, but this was awkward.

 

     Finally, he settled on a direct approach and marched down the nearest aisle between the shelves, hands shoved in his jacket pockets until he made it to Thrawn’s table, at which point he grabbed a chair from another table and set it down so he was sitting facing the wall. He had the seat turned around so the back of it was against the table edge, and he straddled the seat as he asked, “Reading anything interesting?”

 

     “An absolutely fascinating report on the development of sculpture in Mon Calamari artwork,” Thrawn replied tersely. He set his datapad down and looked up at Tycho, lacing his fingers together and letting his hands rest on the desk. “Either you only just recently woke up, or you have spent all this time working up the courage to come speak to me after making an absolute fool of yourself last night.”

 

     Tycho winced. Thrawn wasn’t one to mince words, was he? “Um...just woke up a little while ago...and showered and ate...thank you for cooking, by the way, it was um. Spicy.” He paused, waiting for Thrawn to speak, but the other man just blinked at him, face impassive. Tycho knew that look. It was the look Thrawn usually gave his instructors and peers, and meant that he was shutting himself off from everyone and everything around him rather than show even the smallest hint of vulnerability. The fact that Thrawn was directing it at him now wasn’t good. “Look,” he finally said, “You’re right, I was stupid last night, and really drunk. I didn’t mean to...hurt you or offend you or whatever I did.”

 

     “So you do not even know why I am reacting the way I am?” Thrawn asked.

 

     Tycho gulped. “Well, if I had to guess, I’d say you’re not into guys. And, you know, I’m sure you remember that whole talk we had the other day...about relationships between humans and non-humans...”

 

     “What leads you to this conclusion?”

 

     Tycho blinked. “You have a good memory, even I’ve noticed that.”

 

     “That is not the conclusion I am referring to.”

 

     “...You mean the one about you not being into guys?” Thrawn just nodded, and Tycho’s brow furrowed in a small frown. “Because of that story you told, about you and...damn. What was her name? Alana?”

 

     “Ar’alani,” he corrected softly. For the first time, Tycho noticed the way Thrawn rolled the R in her name. It was barely there, but added a bit of warmth to the name and the way the other man said it.

 

     “Yes, Ar’alani,” Tycho said, trying to copy Thrawn’s pronunciation. He knew without even looking at Thrawn’s face that he botched it badly, but Thrawn didn’t move to correct him again, so he continued, “I mean, if you were interested in men, you wouldn’t sleep with a woman, right?”

 

    By this time, Thrawn had dropped the impassive mask in favor of a sharp frown. “You humans are so narrow.”

 

     “Hey now, let’s not—“

 

     “No, you will hear me out this time,” Thrawn said, cutting Tycho off with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Do you really hold such narrow views about relationships? You clearly think poorly of each other if you automatically believe that sleeping with a superior officer is scandalous. The part of the story that I did not share is that she and I fell into something of a standing arrangement after that first night. But she never once showed me favoritism outside of her bedroom, and I was both expected and able to treat her with the deference owed her as an Admiral. For example, I am one of the few in the fleet who knows her full name and her core name, but I never use them unless we are alone, out of respect.” He paused only to scowl at Tycho, who had opened his mouth to ask for clarification of what core names were. Tycho’s mouth snapped shut and Thrawn nodded gravely before continuing. “You humans cannot even trust each other to be mature and respectful enough to keep personal and professional lives separate. Not only that, but here I come to find out that you apparently have such a narrow view of sexuality that a man can only like women or other men, but not neither or both? And you look down on _us_ as less than? You look at _us_ as beneath you? I want to laugh at the situation, but only so I do not cry at the absurdity.”

 

     Tycho opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally ventured, “Well actually, ‘we humans’ aren’t all alike and different bunches of us have different views about being gay or straight or bisexual—“

 

     “What are these ridiculous words?” Thrawn interrupted to ask.

 

     “They...describe sexual orientation,” Tycho replied, giving him a confused look. “You know...if you’re straight you like the opposite sex and if you’re gay you like the same sex...”

 

     Thrawn shook his head. “We have no words for these situations.”

 

     “Don’t they exist where you come from? These situations, I mean?”

 

     Thrawn gave him an impatient look. “The situations do. The _words_ do not.”

 

     “But then...how do you let people know your preferences?” Tycho asked, genuinely dumbstruck.

 

     The Chiss man huffed. “By turning them down if they approach us and we are not interested. What is so complicated about that?”

 

     “I...nothing, I guess...”

 

     “That is because nothing about it is complicated.”

 

     The two men stared at each other for a few moments, then Thrawn decided he had had enough staring and went back to his work. Unfortunately for him, Tycho wasn’t done with his irritating and highly personal questions.

 

      “So have you ever been with a man? I mean, you’re kind of implying that you’re not against it...”

 

     Thrawn sighed again and lowered his datapad with all the suppressed irritation of a parent whose toddler was asking too many questions and working said parent’s last nerve. “No, I have not. Have you?”

 

     Tycho shook his head. “I haven’t. Just this girl I knew back home.” He paused, and Thrawn started raising his datapad again, but before he could get back into his reading Tycho said, “Why not, though?”

 

     Thrawn leaned close enough to hiss in Tycho’s ear. “Because, unlike the situation with Ar’alani, an opportunity has not presented itself.”

 

     He had settled back in his seat and made himself comfortable when Tycho finally asked, “Then what was so upsetting about last night? Was it because I was drunk?”

 

     It took every ounce of restraint Thrawn had to not slam his datapad into the table. As it was, he let it fall with a sharp thud and turned a fiery glare to the human beside him. “Because you were drunk. Because a few days ago you gave me a _lecture_ on how you couldn’t possibly risk even a _rumor_ of a relationship with a non-human because it would ruin your career. But most of all, because _I do not appreciate being toyed with like an idiot._ ”

 

     Tycho’s jaw dropped. “Wait...are you...I mean...do you really...You can’t possibly...”

 

     “Perhaps you want to shut up and choose your words before trying to talk,” Thrawn said sharply. “You have used up all of my patience for the day.”

 

    Tycho closed his mouth and rubbed his head a little, collected his thoughts, then said, “You can’t possibly be interested in _me._ ”

 

     “Why not? You are hardly the first human I have found intriguing. You are, however, the first to ambush me in a bedroom and the first to be confused about your own motives for doing so.”

 

     Tycho climbed off of his chair and paced around the stacks for a few minutes, running his hands back through his hair and breathing as though he was trying to run a marathon. This was far from how he had expected things to go. He had thought they would have a difficult, awkward conversation, and then go back to living their somewhat awkward shared life until the pilots’ barracks were finished, and then they would avoid each other for the rest of their time here. He hadn’t expected Thrawn to practically ask him for a relationship.

 

     Wait, was that what was going on? After all, the Chiss hadn’t come right out and said so yet...Tycho made his way back to Thrawn’s table and leaned over, palms pressed flat to the table, and looked Thrawn right in the eye.

 

     “Are you saying you would be interested in...in...a relationship? With me?”

 

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “Are you against such an arrangement?”

 

     “The issue of what would happen to me – _and you_ – if we were found out still stands.”

 

     Thrawn snorted. “I managed to maintain a discreet and much less romantic relationship with an Admiral despite the fact that we lived on completely different ships, and when not on duty, on completely different _planets._ I think I can maintain discretion with someone who _lives in my apartment_.”

 

     “It’s going to be awkward. I mean, aside from when we’re in class, we’re always together. What if things go too fast?”

 

     “We Chiss do this wonderful thing called communicating with our partners. It helps cut down on such issues as awkwardness and moving too fast.”

 

     Tycho’s lips twitched. “Were you just joking with me?”

 

     “Only partially. The sarcasm hides an important truth. Surely humans are aware of the need for communication in even the most casual of relationships.”

 

     “Well, yes.” Tycho nodded and stood up, going back to running his hands through his hair and pacing. Finally, he came back. “Will you stop locking me out of your room? I don’t lock you out of mine.”

 

     “Will you promise not to be offended if I douse your cooking in spices? It has...well, I cannot taste anything.”

 

     Tycho laughed. “If that breakfast you made me this morning is typical Chiss food, I can see why. I promise not to be offended. But...you know...you might want to get used to things that aren’t so spicy.”

 

     Thrawn nodded a little. “One more request then.”

 

     “Name it.”

 

     Thrawn fixed him with a very serious look and said, “Get out of here and let me read my art history in piece. We have _all night_ to talk about these things. You can’t hunt me down for a chat about difficult subjects whenever you feel like it.”

 

     Tycho laughed more and waved as he turned to leave. “Alright, alright, I get the point. I’m going. See you at home tonight.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 

     Dinner was a quiet affair that night, as they were both still feeling a little awkward from the events of the last day or so, and as soon as he could after dinner Tycho rushed off to his room to work on homework. He left the door open though, just in case Thrawn wanted to come see him. He could hear his roommate moving around in the kitchen and the living room for a bit, then Thrawn eventually disappeared into his own room.

 

     After a few hours of non-stop homework, Tycho was bored, stiff, and in need of a drink. He wandered into the kitchen and made two cups of tea, balanced them (and some milk, sugar, and citrus slices for them) on a tray he found buried in the back of the cupboards, and made his way to Thrawn’s door. Thrawn hadn’t left his door wide open like Tycho had, but it wasn’t locked and was slightly ajar, so Tycho figured he could interrupt without too much trouble. He knocked on the door, then leaned close to the opening and called, “Thrawn? Mind if I come in?”

 

     “Given the arrangement we reached today, I think it would be highly inappropriate of me to refuse,” Thrawn’s slightly muffled voice replied.

 

     Tycho stifled a laugh and nudged the door open with his foot, then carefully stepped inside. Carrying tea and milk on a tray was harder than he thought it would be, and Thrawn kept his room quite dark. “I made tea. Um. I can’t see anything.”

 

     The light slowly grew brighter until it was just bright enough for Tycho to make out where the furniture was in the room. “Tea?” Thrawn asked. As usual when it came to Tycho’s cooking, he sounded skeptical.

 

     “Tea. Oh come on, I can’t ruin that,” Tycho said.

 

     “Actually, some kinds of tea are very delicate and therefore quite easy to ruin by the use of too-hot water or by steeping for too long,” Thrawn said from his spot on his bed, where he had been studying something on his datapad.

 

     “Okay fine, I could in fact ruin tea. But I doubt I did.” He grinned a little and set one of the cups on Thrawn’s beside table, then went around to the other side of the bed so he could sit comfortable without climbing all over Thrawn. “Look, I even brought milk and sugar for it.”

 

     Thrawn sniffed the tea curiously. “Nothing else, just those?”

 

     “Don’t tell me even Chiss tea is spicy.”

 

     It was Thrawn’s turn to grin, and he set the datapad aside before rolling out of bed, collecting the milk and their teacups, and disappearing into the kitchen. Tycho sighed while he waited and studied Thrawn’s room. It was the mirror image of Tycho’s, with the only differences being that Thrawn kept it quite dark and had filled almost every spare nook and cranny with art. At least, he thought it was art. Some of it looked more like exploding gelatin frozen in mid-air than anything Tycho would call art. He wondered if some of it was Chiss art, and fervently hopped Exploding Gelatin Frozen in Mid-Air was not Chiss.

 

      Thrawn finally returned with their teacups, and nothing else. He set one down beside Tycho before settling back into his spot. “This is much better,” he said. “You’ll see.”

 

     Tycho gave him a skeptical look, then carefully picked up his teacup and sniffed it for signs of anything that would burn his mouth. He didn’t smell anything like that, so he took a sip. “...Oh. Oh my god. What did you _do_ to it?”

 

     Thrawn blinked at him, looking just a touch nervous. “Do you like it?”

 

     “God yes,” Tycho replied, taking another sip. “It’s tea, but you made it thick somehow, and milky, and I don’t even know what else you put in here.”

 

     “Cream and sugar,” Thrawn said. “Blue milk is too thin and ruins the color. Also some spices we use in desserts and treats.”

 

     “This is so good. From now on, you’re in charge of our night-time drinks, deal?”

 

     Thrawn nodded and grinned a little. Tycho couldn’t see well in the dim light, but for a moment he could have sworn Thrawn’s cheeks looked more purple than blue. “Deal.”

 

     They sipped in silence for a few minutes, then Tycho said, “I really am sorry about last night”

 

     “Back on that again, are we?”

 

     “Well, I didn’t think you believed me earlier,” Tycho said. “I actually wasn’t trying to be difficult or anything. It just kind of...happened.”

 

      “From what you have told me, you will have to have more restraint than that in the future, if this is to work out,” Thrawn replied, eyeing the remaining tea in his cup.

 

     Tycho nodded his agreement. “Guess I’m not going to be drinking again until the Life Day holidays.”

 

     “Why will it be alright then?”

 

      “Because I’ll be home with my family and they don’t give a damn who I date or screw as long as we’re safe and happy.”

 

     Thrawn laughed. “That sounds very Chiss.”

 

     “My father is quite forward-thinking,” Tycho said. “Honestly though, I think he would be happiest if I settled down with a nice Alderaanian girl and popped out a few nice Alderaanian kids with her.”

 

     “That sounds very Chiss too,” Thrawn replied.

 

     Tycho studied him for a bit, trying to figure out just how much more he dared try to learn about Thrawn’s culture in one night. “So...you keep to yourselves a bit?”

 

      “That is one way of putting it. You yourself have noted that the Chiss are rather xenophobic. We have our set ways of doing things and Force help you if you do them differently.”

 

     “You’re speaking from experience, aren’t you?”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “I did not always see eye to eye with my people on certain military issues. We don’t attack unless attacked first.”

 

     “Seems smart to me.”

 

     “And it is, until it becomes stupid,” Thrawn replied. “Sometimes something is such a threat you would be better off doing something about it before it decides to do something about you.”

 

     Tycho sensed that he might be skirting the edge of a sensitive issue, so he decided to take the conversation in a different direction. “Earlier you said something about core names and full names.”

 

     “I did,” Thrawn agreed.

 

     “And?”

 

     “You want to know what I meant.”

 

     “Well yes.”

 

      Thrawn leaned over to open his bedside table’s drawer, and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. Tycho stared at the items as though he had never seen them before, then scooted closer so he was leaning on Thrawn while the other wrote. It was so much easier to see over his shoulder that way.

 

     “This is your name,” Thrawn said, writing Tycho’s full name in his perfect handwriting. “And this is mine,” he said, writing Mitth’raw’nuruodo underneath. “Our names have three overlapping parts, except in the case of women’s names, which can sometimes be done differently. This part,” he wrote parenthesis around th’raw’n, “is what we call the core name. It contains the actual core, as well as the end of the family name and the beginning of the affiliation name. This,” here he bracketed Mitth, “is my family name. I belong to House Mitth, which is one of the eight Ruling Families. And this,” he bracketed nuruodo, “is my affiliation. House Nuruodo is also one of the Ruling Families, though I am not a part of them. But when I joined the military, there was some discussion of whether I would become a Nuruodo, or a Mitth like my brother, and it was ultimately decided to keep us both in the same family. But Nuruodo wanted me to be linked to them somehow, so I gained their name as part of mine as well.”

 

     “...I’m so confused. What does joining the military have to do with anything?”

 

     “My brother and I were born to a commoner family. But many Chiss who join the military also become merit adoptives of one of the two Ruling Families associated with the military. The same happens to those entering other fields associated with Ruling Families. Now, under most cases, once you leave military service you lose your status as a merit adoptive and return to your original family and begin using their name again, but my brother and I have both been declared trial-born of House Mitth and permanently matched to the House.”

 

     Tycho pondered for a moment, blinking at Thrawn’s name on the page. “So...I mean, aren’t your birth parents upset about that?”

 

     “Of course not. Thrass and I both have – had – chances at much better lives because of our status.”

 

     “Why doesn’t Thrass’s name end in that N sound too?”

 

     “Thrass took a more political route than I. Nuruodo wasn’t as interested. He kept an affiliation he inherited from our parents.”

 

     “It’s so complicated,” Tycho said. “Our system is so much easier.”

 

     “Is it?” Thrawn asked. “Or maybe it just seems that way because you’re used to it.”

 

     Tycho chuckled. “I suppose you’re right. But then, there’s Ar’alani. That’s not her full name, is it? You said you knew her full name like it was a big deal.”

 

     “That’s because it is. As an Admiral, she was stripped of her family affiliation to represent the fact that she serves all Chiss. Of course she knows what family she comes from and she can use her full name again when she retires. But for now she can’t, and because of that she also has no proper core name. Again, she does, and she knows what it is, but because she has technically lost her family name she has also technically lost her core name.”

 

    Tycho nodded slowly as he struggled to keep track of everything. “You’re not going to tell me what it is, are you?” he finally asked.

 

     Thrawn shrugged. “I don’t see the harm. It’s not like you’ll ever meet her.” He wrote ar’alani on the paper, then added Inronkini’ to the front, to form Inronkini’ar’alani.

 

    “Damn, I thought yours was a mouthful,” Tycho muttered.

 

    “But can you figure out her core name from this?” Thrawn asked, reaching over to poke Tycho’s arm with his pen.

 

     “...Niara?”

 

     “Close. Iara.” Thrawn grinned. “As I said, naming conventions for women can be odd.”

 

     Tycho rested his chin on Thrawn’s shoulder. Thrawn tensed a little and Tycho muttered, “Relax, I’m not going to kiss you or anything. Just trying a few other things out.”

 

     “Ah. Yes. No more kissing for a while. We consider that to be quite intimate,” Thrawn said.

 

     Tycho blushed. “Right. Um. Anyway. So how did you find out her name?”

 

     “I asked her. She decided that after my performance in bed I deserved to know. ...Why are you so interested in this woman? Never before has a potential romantic partner cared so much about my past.”

 

    “Sorry. I guess I’m just kind of using her to learn more about you and your people.”

 

     “The Admiral would not appreciate being used,” Thrawn said, though he sounded more amused than anything.

 

      “Yeah, well, The Pilot is confused and needs answers and doesn’t even know what to ask to get them.”

 

      Thrawn laughed that time and set the paper and pen down on his night stand, then shifted so he was facing Tycho. The human moved over so his face wasn’t so close to Thrawn’s, and they wound up lying on their sides to face each other. “To be fair, you aren’t in a good position to be learning,” Thrawn said. “The last humans I had to teach were with me on my flagship and had many chances to interact with other Chiss. Military Chiss, of course, no civilians, but still. They had others besides me. You...you don’t even get to see the part of space I call home.”

 

     “Maybe someday?” Tycho suggested. “We have a whole month off around Life Day.”

     “I don’t know if I could. Or if you could come with me.”

 

     “Well we don’t have to decide right now,” Tycho said. “It’s not for a few months anyway.”

 

     “Besides, there is no way I would bring you there without teaching you some things first. Like how not to mangle my Admiral’s name. She doesn’t take well to such things.”

 

     Tycho snorted. “From what you’ve told me, I’m surprised she takes well to anything.”

 

     “She is in a difficult position. You try being an Admiral and see how you like it.”

 

     “No thanks. TIE fighters aren’t much more than flying tin cans with lasers strapped to them, but at least I’m responsible for myself when I’m in one.”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “I can see the appeal.”

 

     They fell silent for a bit, and before long Tycho started to feel awkward again. “I...should probably go back to my own room,” he finally said.

 

     “You do not have to,” Thrawn answered, tilting his head a little.

 

     “Not trying to seduce me already, are you?” Tycho teased.

 

     “Certainly not. Or are you telling me that humans can only share a bed by having sex?”

 

     Tycho shook his head. “No, I’m not. ...I guess I can stay if you want me to. Just let me go get something more comfortable on. I can’t stand these damn uniform pants.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

     The next week went much like that early day of their relationship, except that Tycho didn’t go hunting for Thrawn in the libraries anymore and Thrawn took to speaking to Tycho in foreign languages on a regular basis. Apparently, he was quite serious about making Tycho learn Cheunh and possibly also Minnisiat. By the end of the week, Tycho could manage basic greetings in both languages, though he clearly mangled the Cheunh ones almost beyond recognition.

 

     “Our vocal tracts are different,” Thrawn told him at least once a day. “I’m not at all surprised you can’t say it right. But you can understand it.”

 

     Tycho, for his part, just went with it.

 

     One night, Thrawn showed up in his room, datapad in hand, and stretched out on Tycho’s bed while he waited for Tycho to finish a report, then he handed the datapad to the human. “Does this make sense to you?”

 

     Tycho took the pad and settled in to read through the report on it. It took him a while, during which time Thrawn didn’t move so much as a millimeter. “Well...I don’t know, this is all politics stuff, so it doesn’t make much sense to me.”

 

     Thrawn sighed. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

 

     “Well, why are you asking if it makes sense to begin with?” He tapped the screen a few times until it brought him back to the front page.

 

     “Because I’m tired of my instructors telling me that my writing makes no sense.”

 

     Tycho blinked at him. “Wait, _you_ wrote this?”

 

     “Of course, what did you think I was giving you to read?”

 

     “Something from a textbook,” Tycho said, looking back at the report. There, in the corner where he had missed it before, was Thrawn’s name and student number. “I think if it’s not making sense to them, it’s not a language problem. You’re just kicking their asses and instead of admitting you’re smarter than they are, they’re putting it back on you by saying your writing makes no sense.”

 

     The corner of Thrawn’s mouth twitched. “Are you saying I should dumb down my writing for them?”

 

     “Well, it might not hurt to try it once and see what happens. Unless it’s not hurting your grades...I was under the impression that you weren’t really here for the grades anyway.”

 

     “I’m not,” Thrawn confirmed. “This is all for...socialization.”

 

     Tycho snorted. “Well, anyway, like I said, don’t worry about it. You could mop the floor with any of them and they should be _thrilled_ to have someone like you on their side.”

 

     Thrawn grinned and him. “What are you working on?”

 

     “Ah, just a stupid report. It’s finished, but now I have a headache.”

 

     The Chiss sat up on the edge of the bed and leaned over, pressing his hand to Tycho’s forehead. “You’re hot, too. Are you getting sick?”

 

     “God, I hope not,” Tycho groaned. “I have things coming up, I can’t miss class.”

 

     “Well, if you are...I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”

 

     “Right. I’m sure it’s nothing a good night of sleep can’t cure.”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “I take it that means sleeping by yourself?”

 

     Tycho gave him a small smile and nodded. “I’m sorry. Plenty of time for more sleeping in the same bed later.” He would miss having Thrawn in his bed – over the past week he had really gotten used to having someone else there – but it wasn’t like they ever did anything but actually sleep anyway. They could both manage a night of sleeping alone again.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     By the next evening, Thrawn was probably very glad Tycho had suggested they sleep apart. For the third time that night, Tycho woke up and rolled out of bed, then scurried off to the bathroom to lock himself in there for several long minutes. He was never, ever going to eat any of Thrawn’s medicinal cooking again. He didn’t care how well Thrawn said it would work or how sick and desperate for a cure he was, it just wasn’t going to happen. Not if it had him out of bed and locked in the bathroom for half the night.

 

      Tycho had managed to avoid the flu going around the base for a long time, but had finally succumbed earlier that day. A trip to the med center left him feeling woozy, though, and he had stumbled home just as Thrawn was preparing to make dinner. His appearance at the door, looking pale and glassy-eyed and unsteady on his feet, had sent Thrawn into a frenzy of cooking...something. Tycho still didn’t know what it was. Some kind of soup, or something like that. As the pot simmered, Thrawn had forced Tycho into bed, piled blankets on top of him, and turned the heat up until Tycho was sweating more than he could ever remember sweating in his life. Just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, Thrawn had appeared with a bowl of spicy red soup with chunks of something floating in it. He assured Tycho it was meat. He also assured Tycho that just a bowl of the soup would be enough to cleanse his system and he would be back on his feet in no time, and with much less trouble than whatever they had done in the med center had caused.

 

     _Well, it’s cleansing my system all right_ , Tycho thought to himself as he huddled in the bathroom. _And to be fair I_ do _feel a lot better. I would appreciate being able to sleep through the night though. And not being so damn thirsty._

 

     Eventually, he left the bathroom, but he decided to take a detour to the kitchen to grab a drink. He was feeling horribly dehydrated, and everyone always said you should have lots of liquids with the flu anyway. He opened his bedroom door and padded towards the little kitchen as quietly as he could, but before he could make it more than a step or two he was distracted by the dim light coming from beside the couch.

 

     Looking over, he could just make out the shape of Thrawn, curled up on the end of the couch closest to the light. His eyes were closed and he hadn’t moved at all when Tycho came out of his room, so he was clearly asleep. Tycho shook his head and sighed. Leave it to Thrawn to be so engrossed in something that he would fall asleep right out here. Tycho thought the other man couldn’t possibly be that comfortable, though – their couch was nice, but nothing Tycho would ever want to sleep on, and it was chilly in the living room but Thrawn didn’t even have a light blanket. Tycho shook his head and went back into his room, retrieved one of the extra blankets from his bed, and returned to the living room to drape it over the sleeping Chiss.

 

 

     As he got closer to the couch, he could make out more details of the scene. An empty glass sat on the table beside Thrawn, with nothing but a small puddle of faintly purple liquid in the bottom. Tycho picked it up and sniffed it. It had the faintly fruity fragrance of berry flavored blue milk. Tycho grinned a bit and shook his head. Thrawn liked to play the tough guy in public, but even he had his weaknesses, it seemed. Not that Tycho could blame him, berry milk was delicious. He wondered if Thrawn would be upset if he had a glass of that instead of the water he had planned, assuming there was any milk left to drink.

 

     The second thing he noticed was that one of Thrawn’s arms was dangling off the front of the couch. Tycho crouched down to tuck said arm back onto the couch, and his knee brushed against something on the floor. He frowned and shifted a bit so he could pick the item up, and studied it. _Well I’ll be damned,_ he thought as he realized what it was. _It’s a kriffing_ book.

 

     Tycho hadn’t seen many books in his life. The majority he had seen were in museums or in his grandfather’s ornate study, behind glass where nobody could touch them. As far as he knew, there weren’t any books in the Academy library either. He wondered where Thrawn had found such a thing, and turned the book over in his hands, hunting for a clue. Finally, he opened it to a random page, and looked down at the contents.

 

     _Pictures_. Flat, printed pictures. Tycho had never seen such a thing, and it took him a moment to understand the images. They were all of Chiss. Many of the pictures seemed to include Thrawn himself, though since he looked much younger in some of the images Tycho wasn’t totally sure. He did notice that someone had written a series of elegant characters under each picture, and that the same ones seemed to pop up regularly, always matched to the same people. In fact, Tycho noticed that most of the pictures seemed to focus on the same two people: the one he suspected was Thrawn, and a slightly taller, slightly older-looking Chiss who bore a striking resemblance to Thrawn.

 

     Finally, near the back of the book, Tycho found what seemed to be the most recent photo. It showed two Chiss on the bridge of a ship. The one on the left was clearly Thrawn, dressed in the military uniform he had once described to Tycho, complete with the elaborate silver rank bars on the collar. Beside him, in robes of grey and burgundy, stood the slightly older Chiss who looked so much like him. He seemed to be looking at Thrawn more than at the camera, and the look of pride on his face was unmistakable.

 

     Tycho sighed and looked up at Thrawn’s sleeping face. _That must be his brother then._ It was the only thing that made sense. Thrawn had never spoken of his parents, but once he had gotten comfortable enough to talk about his family with Tycho, he had talked almost non-stop about his brother. Thrass was Thrawn’s older brother, and from their conversations Tycho had gotten the impression that Thrass had been Thrawn’s biggest protector, supporter, and advocate, even in their adult years.

 

     Except that now he couldn’t fulfill those roles, because he had died before Thrawn had left his people to join the Empire. And though Thrawn had never come right out and said so, Tycho could tell that the loss had left him devastated and alone.

 

     He shook his head a bit and looked back down at the picture, wondering if Thrass would still be proud of his little brother if he could see where Thrawn was and what he was doing now. Thrawn hadn’t told him the whole story, but from what Tycho could piece together it seemed that Thrawn and Thrass had both sacrificed their lives – literally in one case and figuratively in the other – to protect their people from what they saw as an outside threat. Surely Thrass would have understood and approved of that, even if he didn’t care for where his brother had wound up.

 

     Tycho closed the book and sighed, then very carefully tucked it back in Thrawn’s arms. The other man didn’t even twitch. _He must be dead asleep if he didn’t even notice that._ The human gripped the couch arm to make sure he didn’t lose his balance as he stood up, then grabbed the blanket he had brought out and draped it gently over Thrawn, tucking it in behind him and smoothing it out a little before he was satisfied. Tycho took the empty glass from the table, turned the light off, and went back to the kitchen. Thrawn’s glass wound up in the sink, and Tycho got a glass of his own for some water before finally slipping back into his room and going off to bed.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho didn’t appear until lunch time the next day, but somehow, Thrawn was in the kitchen, finishing lunch. The fact that he was in his formal uniform showed that he was clearly between classes. Two plates full of food sat on their small kitchen table, and the Chiss smiled at Tycho when he appeared.

 

     “I was just about to come check on you. Feeling better?”

 

     Tycho nodded. “Just a bit tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

 

     “No, I didn’t expect you would,” Thrawn said. “You had a lot to get out of your system.”

 

     “...I don’t ever want to know how you knew that.” Tycho grinned and patted his arm. “But please tell me you made something less spicy for lunch, please.”

 

     Thrawn joined him at the table. “Well, for you I did. I might have gone too far towards making it flavorless though.”

 

     “Flavorless is good right now,” Tycho said. He settled gingerly into his chair and started eating. Lunch wasn’t flavorless, but the flavor was light and mild and agreed with his stomach. “This is perfect, really. Thank you.”

 

     Thrawn nodded a bit, and Tycho noticed a hint of purple on his cheeks. “Of course.” They ate in silence for a few moments, then Thrawn looked up and said, “I heard some of the other cadets talking about some sort of annual survival competition today. What is it?”

 

     “Ooh, they must have been talking about the Academy Challenge. It’s actually more than just the survival competition, but that’s the first contest. Basically, all of the cadets pair up and we get sent off on these challenges. At the end of each challenge a prize is awarded, and if any one team wins at least two of the three challenges they give some kind of huge prize at the end.” He grinned. “Nobody ever wins two competitions so I don’t even know what they would give us, but we have a good time and the competition prizes are good enough.”

 

     “So what is the survival thing, then?”

 

    Tycho munched a few more mouthfuls of lunch, then said, “They take us somewhere else on the planet, where they’ve set up this course we have to run over a period of a few days. It’s all about wilderness survival in different conditions. Last year we were in the equatorial jungles, the year before that they made a course out in the islands, and the year before that they stuck us in the dessert. So this year will probably be one of the ice caps or something.”

 

     Thrawn smirked and leaned forward. “We should be a team.”

 

     “For the ice caps? I was going to sit those out.”

 

     “No reason to. I grew up on a planet covered in ice.”

 

     Tycho’s eyes widened. “No way.”

 

     “I did. Csilla has been ice-bound for millennia. My people live in cities beneath the ice, but we have developed sophisticated means of surviving when we have to surface as well. I think I can get the two of us through an obstacle course on a set of polar ice caps.”

 

     “Let’s see what they say in the official announcement first,” Tycho suggested. “And then we can decide. We’ll have to practice too, you know, I don’t know the first thing about survival in ice and snow.”

 

      Thrawn hesitated for a moment, then reached across the table to pat Tycho’s hand. “Don’t worry. I can teach you everything.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 

     “Told you it would be easy.”

 

     Tycho bent over and rubbed at the catch in his side, only standing upright again when it was gone. Even with the protective goggles he wore, he had to squint to see the small two-man shuttle resting in the snow before him. “Yeah, well, that was still a hell of a hike up that snowbank.”

 

     Ahead of him, Thrawn was already opening the shuttle ramp and carting his bag of supplies inside. He returned a few moments later and took Tycho’s pack too, then put his arm around Tycho’s waist to help the other man to the shuttle. “I’m quite sure we got here in record time, though,” he said.

 

     “And toasty warm, too.” Tycho wrapped his arm around Thrawn and gave him a squeeze as they crossed the remaining distance to their shuttle. “Still don’t know why you had two of these, but it’s a good thing you did.”

 

     The past few weeks had gone by in a blur, between Tycho’s normal work, trying to maintain relationships with his friends, learning all about surviving in ice conditions, and being with Thrawn. Granted, the couple was taking it slow. They still hadn’t had a proper kiss since that night Tycho was so drunk, and both seemed content to keep it that way.

 

    But Tycho had to admit that the part of each day he looked forward to the most was coming home and seeing Thrawn. He was sure nobody else would understand their relationship, but he was fine with that, at least for the time being.

 

     “You’re going to let me fly this thing back to the base, right?” he asked as they climbed into the shuttle.

 

     “Of course,” Thrawn replied. He let go of Tycho and stopped to arrange their bags neatly in the back. They only had the two backpacks, one for each of them, and the shuttle had come equipped with emergency supplies, but he still wanted to make sure they were organized and accessible if something happened. “There’s room for me to join you in the cockpit though, correct?”

 

     “Only place for you to sit, actually,” Tycho said. “This thing wasn’t made for passengers.”

 

     Thrawn finally went to the cockpit with Tycho and  strapped himself into the co-pilot’s seat while the Alderaanian ran through some pre-flight checks and started the ignition sequence. “How long is the flight back to the academy ground from here?”

 

     “A couple of hours?” Tycho said. “Not that long. There’s probably some time for a nap.” He pulled the helmet of his snowsuit off and grinned at Thrawn. “You did most of the hard work out there, so you deserve it.”

 

     Thrawn laughed a little, the sound muffled because he chose to leave his helmet on. The sunlight streaming in through the front viewport and bouncing off the pure white snow outside was too much for his eyes to handle without the goggles. “Then I leave our triumphant return to base in your capable hands.”

 

     He had no idea how long they had been travelling when he was jarred awake by the shuttle jumping sharply upwards, then slamming back down hard enough to throw him out of his seat as far as the crash webbing would allow. Thrawn’s glowing eyes snapped open and he instinctively gripped his seat’s armrests. “What was _that_?”

 

     “I don’t know,” Tycho’s strained voice answered. The human was wrestling with the shuttle’s controls, trying to force it back on a normal course. “Couple of minutes ago it started snowing hard, I think we’re in the middle of a blizzard, and I can’t see a damn thing.”

 

     “What about the sensors?” Thrawn asked.

 

     “Jammed,” Tycho said, jerking his chin towards the row of flashing red lights on the panel. “I think the snow is messing with them. Something tells me the idiots in the hangar didn’t retrofit these things for snowy climates.”

 

    The shuttle suddenly jerked to one side, and for a few seconds they could hear a horrible screeching noise as they slid past something. “We just hit something,” Thrawn said.”

 

     “I know, but I don’t know what.”

 

     “Glacier? Stone outcropping?”

 

     “Maybe!”

 

     Thrawn tried to get a look out the viewport, but there was too much snow and he couldn’t see a thing. He turned his attention back to the control panel, mind working in overdrive to make sense of the unfamiliar controls. “Damage?”

 

     Tycho glanced at the readings on the panel. “I think it took out part of the wing on that side,” he said.

 

     “And at least one fuel compartment,” Thrawn added.

 

     “What makes you say that?” Tycho asked, attention once more on the viewport and the sensors that would help him steer.

 

     “The fact that out fuel reading is dropping dramatically by the second,” Thrawn said, jabbing a finger at the consol. “We’re going to crash.”

 

     Tycho swore, and suddenly yanked his hands away from the controls and pushed back into his seat. “Brace yourself,” he snapped.

 

     Moments later, they plowed into the side of a massive snowdrift, and everything went black.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn had no idea how long he was out cold, only that it was dark when he finally came to. He couldn’t tell if that was because night had fallen on the ice cap or if it was because the snow swirling around them was so thick, and for the moment at least he didn’t care. His one concern right now was making sure he and Tycho were still alive. His next concern was making sure they stayed that way.

 

     The first order of business was for Thrawn to assess his own injuries. He felt as much of himself as he could reach, unhooking his crash webbing in the process, then carefully levered himself out of his seat. They had somehow landed upright, so he didn’t fall to the ceiling or towards a wall, and he was grateful for that. It would make getting out of here that much easier. As far as he could tell, he was uninjured aside from some bruises and a badly twisted knee. That too would make getting out of here easier.

 

 

     Tycho, however, was a different matter entirely. The first thing Thrawn noticed about him was the layer of blood coating half of his face. Tycho had removed his helmet when they had gotten into the shuttle, and as a result he hadn’t been protected in the crash. Thrawn examined him, trying hard to ignore the rising panic he was feeling. He found a large gash on Tycho’s scalp, just behind his hair line, but he couldn’t tell how deep it was or if it was the only source of the blood. For now, he was just going to have to assume it was the source and that it wasn’t as bad as it looked. He tried to convince himself that head wounds were just messy, even when they were minor.

 

     He worked his way towards the back of the shuttle, moving slowly and carefully just in case his movements risked unbalancing the shuttle and sending them tumbling down a hill or into a ravine. He was hunting for their packs and the supplies that had come with the shuttle, especially the med kits. But when he finally made it to the area where he had stored their things, he groaned. They had all been on Tycho’s side of the shuttle, and that side was badly crushed and damaged. There was an enormous gash in the side of the shuttle. On the one hand, it was easily big enough for Thrawn to climb out of and he would have no problem dragging Tycho along with him. But on the other hand, much of their survival gear had fallen out somewhere along the way and he didn’t dare climb out to hunt for it. After all, he had no idea if it had fallen when they crashed, or when they hit whatever they had hit to cause the crash, or even if it had been stolen by something dangerous. But there was one pack left, along with an extra med kit and a ration pack. Thrawn retrieved all three and pulled them closer to the cockpit, then took the med kit back to Tycho’s side and selected some bandages to use in patching up his head.

 

     It took him a while to come up with a good way to do so, since his medical training was limited. But once that task was finished, he moved on to getting Tycho out of his seat. That task revealed even more blood coming from an unknown source, and the fact that part of Tycho’s snow suit was caught in the twisted side of the control panel. Thrawn spent several long, frantic minutes trying to find a way to get Tycho out with his snow suit intact, but it soon became obvious that it wasn’t going to work. Finally, he found a knife in their survival pack and used it to cut Tycho’s snowsuit free, then went to cut the suit’s torso open in the hopes of finding where the blood was coming from.

 

     He groaned when he did. Tycho’s side bore a large puncture wound, and Thrawn couldn’t figure out how Tycho hadn’t already bled to death. The wound seemed deep to him, though he wasn’t about to try anything to find out. Once again, he took the time to bandage the area as best he could, using a pressure wrap to hold various bits of gauze in place. With that done, he curled up with Tycho in his arms in the hopes that his own body heat would keep the other warm, and considered their options.

 

     One option, the one he was leaning towards, was to simply stay inside the shuttle and make sure the distress beacon was activated. The good thing about this was that it wouldn’t require him to move Tycho and risk injuring him more. Plus, they already had a ready-made shelter from the wind, the snow, and many of the possible threats out there. They didn’t seem to be running out of air in the shuttle, so they would be able to breathe for a while. The bad thing about it was that the interior of the shuttle was cold and Thrawn didn’t know if there would be a way to warm it up. He also didn’t know if there were any dangerous leaks or how long the shuttle would remain stable. After all, just because his movements hadn’t dislodged them from a precarious perch yet didn’t mean they never would, and there was the possibility that as more snow gathered on top of them, some portion of the shuttle would break or collapse in and injure them even more. The other option was for Thrawn to go outside the shuttle and make them a shelter by digging into the snow drift. On the one hand, he knew it would keep them warm, counter-intuitive though it may seem. He also knew he could bring their supplies with them, and that they wouldn’t run out of air. On the other hand, if they went too far from the shuttle, it might be difficult for rescuers to find them, and if the snow drift was unstable it might collapse on them.

 

     Finally, he decided that he needed to do three things before making any decision. The first, which he could do without moving more than a few centimeters, was to make sure their distress beacon was on. With that done, he moved on to step two, which required him to set Tycho down and strip out of his own snowsuit. He had warm clothing on underneath, but nothing really suited to this kind of weather. But Tycho was injured and his suit was damaged, so Thrawn decided that Tycho needed it more. He took a while to carefully dress Tycho in his own snow suit, shoving the damaged and bloody one where he hoped it wouldn’t attract predators. Finally, he decided to investigate and make sure the shuttle wasn’t leaking anything. That required him to climb out the gash he had seen earlier and investigate the crash from the outside, shivering violently the whole time. Fortunately, he was able to make his inspection quick – he saw no signs that the shuttle was leaking anything at all, let alone anything dangerous.

 

     Satisfied that staying in the shuttle was a viable option, he crawled back inside and returned to where he had left Tycho and their supplies in the cockpit. He re-checked Tycho’s bandages. He didn’t seem to be bleeding through them, which Thrawn decided was a good sign. So he turned his attention instead to sorting through the things in their survival kit. Food rations, water rations, medicines...nothing he could use to address their main problem of the moment, which was keeping warm. Finally, at the bottom of the bag, he found three useful things: a thin, silvery blanket just big enough to cover both of them; a tiny emergency tent, also just big enough for both of them; and a small portable heater that could be activated just by opening it. He spread the blanket over Tycho and set to work trying to set up the tent in the hopes that it might give them a little extra insulation, especially once he opened the heater. It didn’t quite go as planned. The tent had never been made for use inside the partially-crushed cockpit of a tiny shuttle, but Thrawn decided it was good enough. He dragged Tycho and as much of their limited resources as possible into the tent, huddled under the blanket with Tycho, and opened the little heat source.

 

     And then the only thing he could do was wait.

 

     _I wonder how long it’s going to take them to find us. They probably don’t even know we’ve crashed yet. What if they don’t even notice we’re missing until everyone else is back safely? Hopefully they have someone watching for emergency and crash beacons. I would, if I was the one in charge. But I’m_ not _the one in charge, and so far the instructors haven’t done much to make me trust them or believe in their intelligence...What happens if Tycho’s injuries are worse than I thought? I’m no medic, there’s only so much I can do and what I can do isn’t very good. What’s going to happen to Tycho if we have to wait out here too long? He didn’t even want to do this stupid competition...did I talk him into coming to his death?_

_I don’t think I could live with myself._

_I don’t know if I could live anyway, if he died. Thrass isn’t here anymore. I’m so far away from my people they don’t even know how to contact me properly. I don’t even know if any of them have even tried. And now Tycho could be dying. I don’t know what I’ll do if he dies._

 

     Thrawn didn’t want to sleep. He knew that falling asleep could be life-threating in a situation like this. But as time wore on without anything at all to break the monotony of waiting, he grew more and more sleepy. Somewhere along the line, his eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “Are either of them still breathing?”

 

     “Yeah, both of them! Hey Jez, any idea how you tell if an alien has frostbite?”

 

     “Is that a joke? This isn’t funny, Keton.”

 

     “It’s not a joke, I’m asking you seriously. The guy is always blue, I can’t tell if he’s cold or frostbitten or what.”

 

     “If he is it’s his own damn fault for not wearing a snow suit.”

 

     “Looks like one of ‘em couldn’t wear one anymore, look, there’s a bloody one shoved under the console here.”

 

     Thrawn’s eyes fluttered open a little and he struggled to focus on the face that was uncomfortably close to his. As he came to his senses, the features swam into focus, and he recognized Tycho’s friend Keton. “...I’ve died and gone to the deepest circle of punishment,” he groaned.

 

     “You’re talking, you’re not dead yet,” Keton said. “Tycho, on the other hand, is pretty damn close. Who bandaged him up, you?”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “I’m not very good at it, I’m not a medic...”

 

     “Doesn’t matter,” the voice attached to Jez said from somewhere behind him. “Your little patch job probably kept him from bleeding to death.”

 

     Thrawn finally woke up enough to realize that Tycho was no longer with him. “Where is he? Where’s Tycho?”

 

     “Easy,” Keton said, pushing Thrawn back down on the floor. “The medics already took him out of here and they’re coming back for you in a minute, once they get him on the transport.”

 

     “Is he going to be okay?” Thrawn asked, blinking up at Keton. His voice was thick with worry.

 

     Keton shook his head a little. “Too early to tell. He might not make it back to base, he might live but never fly again, he might be fine.”

 

     “It’s my fault,” Thrawn muttered. “I talked him into this.”

 

     Keton squeezed Thrawn’s shoulder. “Yeah, maybe you did, but you have no idea how hard it is to talk Tycho into anything,” he said. “You must be damn special to him if he was willing to do something like this for you.”

 

     The medics returned to collect Thrawn before he could answer Keton. The process of getting him onto the stretcher felt like it took forever, and Thrawn kept grousing at them to hurry up and get him out of the damn shuttle. Finally, they managed to get him out of the damaged shuttle and into the waiting medical transport, where the medics immediately went to work assessing his status.

 

     Thrawn caught a quick glimpse of Tycho, attached to more tubes and sensors that Thrawn had ever seen attached to one person and attended by his own team of medics, before someone sedated him and he fell asleep once more.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick shout-out and thanks to my karma-givers and commenters! Also, I just wanted to note that this is an AU story, so I don't follow the actual EU canon to the letter. Beyond that, you'll just have to wait and see what Tycho does...

**Chapter 10**

 

     As it turned out, Thrawn did not have frostbite. In fact, once they were back to the Academy and the doctors at the medical center got a chance to look at him, Thrawn was declared healthy except for a strained knee. They fitted him with a brace and sent him on his way. But with Tycho still in the med center being patched up and dipped in bacta, Thrawn was in no mood to actually leave, and he prowled the halls outside of Tycho’s room until the staff got so spooked that they called his superiors, who ordered him to leave the premises for the night. Thrawn returned to his apartment, but only because they forced him to.

 

     It wasn’t a pleasant evening, not at all. He tried to cook dinner, but gave up half-way through and decided to sustain himself on whatever ready-made snack food they had around. He turned on the holo to distract himself with whatever was on, but the various shows just annoyed him and he wound up turning the holo off after just half an hour. He went into his room to study his newest art acquisition, but he couldn’t focus enough to get anything out of it. He tried a hot shower, then a cold one, but that just made him wet on top of everything else. Finally, in a desperate bid for sleep, he dug through his closet until he found the box he kept in the very back, a box he hadn’t even shown Tycho yet. Inside, Thrawn kept a small collection of things from home, including some books, pictures that weren’t in his photo album, and an assortment of music stored on a small player. He pulled the player and some ear buds for it out of the box, tucked the buds in his ears, and selected a series of soothing songs, then curled up in bed to try to sleep.

 

     The night seemed to drag on forever, and he didn’t sleep well at all. He finally gave up on sleeping at four in the morning, and dragged himself out of bed for another shower and an attempt at breakfast. After breakfast, he spent a solid half an hour in the bathroom attempting to hide the physical signs of poor sleep with the various cosmetics Tycho had been so curious about when they first met. Finally, he was forced to admit that he looked as good as he was going to that day, and dressed quickly so he could stop by to see Tycho before going to class.

 

     Tycho was still asleep and the med center staff was less than pleased to see Thrawn hanging around again, but they left him alone this time. Whenever Thrawn was sure nobody was looking, he stroked Tycho’s hair a bit and smoothed his blankets in an effort to do _something_ to care for him.

 

     Really, though, he wanted Tycho at home, where he really _could_ care for the human.

 

     Finally, he had to go to his first class of the day. When he left the med center, the campus was much more active than it had been when he arrived, with cadets rushing off to classes from their barracks and the cafeteria. As he made his own way to class, he noticed little knots if cadets huddling together, pointing and whispering as he passed. It was terribly annoying, and he hoped they were only talking about the fact that a crash had happened on not that he had been found cuddling Tycho inside a crashed shuttle. Though at least if that was the hot gossip, he had a perfectly good explanation for it – sharing body heat had probably been the difference between life and death for both of them. The easiest way to share body heat was for them to be pressed close together, and since Tycho had been unconscious the easiest way to accomplish that was to hold him. That made perfect sense, right?

 

     Thrawn spent the rest of the day driving everybody nuts by darting back and forth to the med center between classes. That, of course, was much harder to explain away. But had anyone asked, he would have told them that he felt responsible for Tycho because they were teammates. He had heard Tycho and his pilot friends talking about wing mates, and Thrawn himself had known several pilots from his days in the Ascendancy. Surely anyone who understood the wing mate relationship would understand Thrawn’s motives in caring for his teammate.

 

     Finally, the last class of the day ended, and Thrawn made his way one more time to the med center. He planned on staying there, at Tycho’s side, until they kicked him out again. But when he arrived, his plans were dashed by the presence of five other humans surrounding Tycho’s bed. Thrawn crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at them, pursing his lips as he tried to come up with a Plan B. It had never even occurred to him that others might come see Tycho, so he had never bothered coming up with alternative plans before now.

 

     Maybe he should just march in there and act like finding a whole group of humans at Tycho’s side wasn’t unusual. Could he convince them that he was Tycho’s superior or something? He _was_ good at being in charge...he could pull it off. Yes, that’s what he was going to do. He uncrossed his arms, straightened up a bit, and schooled his features into something more stern and commanding, and emerged from his hiding place in the hallway to head for Tycho’s door.

 

     He was just reaching for the panel beside the door that would make it open when the door slid open by itself and revealed a young man, very similar in appearance to Tycho, standing there. “Gah,” he said, taking a step back. “Geez. You were _just outside the window_ a second ago,” he said.

 

     “I move quickly,” Thrawn replied, voice icy cold. “Perhaps you should too.”

 

     The younger man went white as a sheet and started to stammer a reply, when a weaker voice said, “Skoloc, come on, let him in, you’re not going to win any points with him that way.”

 

     Skoloc barely managed to move away from the door in time to let Thrawn dart inside and over to Tycho’s bed. “You’re awake,” the Chiss said, crouching down beside him and completely ignoring the gaggle of humans staring at him in complete awe.

 

     Tycho was indeed awake, though still obviously weak and sleepy. But he managed a small nod and reached over to rest his hand in Thrawn’s outstretched one. “Yeah...barely. And everything’s kind of blurry but they said that’s just the medicine.”

 

      “I hope so. Blurry vision doesn’t go well with flying.”

 

     “Nope,” Tycho said. “It’s okay though, not the first time I’ve been stuck here on weird medicine.”

 

     Thrawn snorted. “You would be much better off at _home_.”

 

     Tycho managed a weak laugh. “They’ve been telling me the same thing. I think you guys have a different idea of home, though.”

 

     Thrawn finally looked around at the other humans. There were two middle-aged ones, a man and a woman, who were studying him with a mix of curiosity and trepidation. The three younger ones, two women and the man he had startled earlier, were much more openly curious about him. All five bore a striking resemblance to Tycho. “...This is your family, isn’t it?”

 

     “Yes,” Tycho said. “They got here while you were in class.”

 

     “Tycho, darling, why do you know his schedule so well?” the woman asked. Clearly, this was his mother. “Just because you live with him...you never knew Keton’s schedule like that.”

 

     Tycho blushed and coughed a little. “Can we talk about that later, when I’m _not_ strapped to dozens of machines in the med center?”

 

     His parents exchanged a knowing look, and Skoloc got a rather sly smirk on his face. Thrawn gave them all a stern look. “He has his reasons for his request,” he said firmly. “I suggest you respect it and wipe that smirk from your face.” That last was directed at Skoloc, who squeaked in fear and complied.

 

     Tycho squeezed Thrawn’s hand a little. “Don’t worry so much,” he said. “They understand. Stop assuming the worst of them.”

 

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow at him, then switched to Cheunh to say, [Easy for you to say, I don’t know them at all.]

 

     “They raised me,” Tycho said. No way was he going to try Cheunh or any other language when he was so weak. “That counts for something, doesn’t it?”

 

     Before Thrawn could answer, one of the girls interrupted to say, “What language was that? I’ve never heard anything like it.”

 

      “You wouldn’t, unless you spent extensive time in the Unknown Regions,” Thrawn told her by way of explanation. “Which, by the way, is not unknown to those of us who call it home.”

 

     “You’re all the way from the Unknown Regions?” Skoloc said, fear momentarily forgotten. Thrawn let out a long-suffering sigh and let his head fall forward so his forehead rested on Tycho’s hand.

 

     Tycho grinned and freed his hand so he could pat Thrawn’s head. “Didn’t you hear him? It’s not unknown to him, Skoloc. They call it the...what was it? Ascendancy?”

 

     “Ascendancy,” Thrawn confirmed. “...let’s not get into revealing what my people are called, please. The fewer who know, the better.”

 

     “Of course,” Tycho said quietly.

 

     Thrawn looked up at him, glowing eyes narrowed just a bit. “You need sleep,” he said.

 

     “Yeah. I’m getting a little tired now,” Tycho agreed.

 

     “Then I’ll leave you alone,” Thrawn said, rising to his feet in one smooth motion and reaching over to give Tycho’s shoulder a squeeze.

 

     “Keep an eye on my family, would you?” Tycho murmured sleepily. “Show ‘em the good sights, cook spicy food for ‘em...that kinda thing...” He was asleep before he could properly finish the thought.

 

     Thrawn chuckled a little. “Of course.”

 

     The remaining humans and the one Chiss stood around awkwardly for a few moments, then Tycho’s father cleared his throat and said, “You really don’t have to chaperone us or anything, we have rooms in a hotel off the base and we can just go back to those.”

 

     “I made Tycho a promise, I intend to keep it,” Thrawn replied. “However, if you have no wish to spend time with me, I will not force my company on you.”

 

     “Are you always so damn formal?” the younger girl asked, which earned her a reprimand from her mother.

 

     “Around strangers? Absolutely,” Thrawn said. “This is the Empire. I am not human. Do you understand what that means?”

 

      “We understand,” Tycho’s father interrupted before his daughter could say anything. “I’m surprised someone like you is here.”

 

      “Sometimes, we have to make amazing sacrifices for those we love,” Thrawn said. “Sometimes, that includes putting yourself in harm’s way to protect them.”

 

      Skoloc raised an eyebrow. “So you mean something like giving your snowsuit to Tycho?”

 

     Thrawn fixed Skoloc with a cold stare, and for a moment the tension in the room was almost suffocating. “I was referring to my love for my people,” Thrawn replied. “As for Tycho...draw your own conclusions. I refuse to speak about such private matters where anyone could hear me.”

 

     Tycho’s mother gave his shoulder a quick pat. “You look tired, dear,” she said, and chose to ignore the way Thrawn’s eyebrow twitched when she used the term of endearment. “This has been rough on all of us. Go home, get some rest, and when Tycho is recovered we can all have a nice evening together off base. I daresay you boys could use some proper food...though from what Tycho tells me, you aren’t a half-bad cook yourself.”

 

     “...he told you about me?”

 

     “Oh yes,” she said.

 

     “Everything?”

 

     “Oh yes.”

 

     “I mean...everything. All the things. All the details?”

 

     She patted his shoulder again. “Including the ones you don’t want to talk about. So relax. Have a good night at home. We can talk more when he recovers.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The marvels of modern Imperial medicine allowed Tycho to recover swiftly, and within a couple of days the medics deemed him healthy enough to leave the med center. By then, rumors were flying around the base, but not about the thing Thrawn had feared.

 

     Rather, the topic of speculation was what the officers were going to do about the prize.

 

     The prize was an extra two weeks of leave tacked on to the mid-year Life Day leave, which was already long to being with. The last week of one term and the first week of the second never had any classes, but students were usually expected to stay on base and help with tasks like cleaning the barracks and maintaining the grounds. Having two extra weeks of leave meant that whoever won that prize wouldn’t have to participate in those activities, because they didn’t even have to be on base. Needless to say, it was a highly-coveted prize, and this year’s had gone to a couple of commando trainees who had made it back to the base fifteen minutes before the second-place team.

 

     But there was one problem that had the campus sharply divided. Data retrieved from the controls of Tycho and Thrawn’s shuttle showed that, had they not crashed, they would have arrived back a full hour before the current winning team. Many people would have been willing to let that go and support the official winners had evidence not already come to light that someone in the maintenance crew had tampered with Tycho and Thrawn’s shuttle. Some people didn’t care and felt that the strict interpretation of the rules should be followed, and that the first team back should win regardless of what happened in the field. But a growing number of people were starting to feel that Tycho and Thrawn should get _some_ kind of reward, both to recognize their excellent pre-crash performance and to compensate them for the fact that a clean win had been stolen from them.

 

     Finally, the very day Tycho was released from the med center, an Academy-wide convocation was called and all of the cadets and instructors gathered in the massive auditorium that was usually reserved for things like graduation ceremonies and surprised visits from Darth Vader.

 

     The same commander who had made the announcement about the pilots’ barracks took the podium, and the gathered cadets fell silent. Every eye in the room was fixed on the commander.

 

     “As I’m sure you are all aware,” he began, “there has been some controversy regarding who should be declared the winner of the recent survival competition, and therefore who should actually be rewarded.” A murmur of agreement swept through the room, and the commander waited for it to die down before continuing, “You instructors have been vigorously debating this issue as well, since this is the first time problems of this sort have ever happened with the survival competition. The evidence is clear: had their sensors not malfunctioned and sent them plowing into the side of a mountain during the third and final leg of the competition, cadets Thrawn and Tycho Celchu would have won by an enormous margin. As it is, though, they did plow into the side of a mountain, and yet they are both here with us today, a testament to their survival skills. And what would be the point of a survival competition if survival in the face of horrible odds wasn’t rewarded somehow?

 

     “Therefore, the other officers and I have decided that, in the interest of fairness, we cannot strip the first-place title or award from cadets Liy or Shineth, since they fulfilled all of the requirements of the competition.” For a moment, all eyes turned to the two commando cadets in the front row on the left side of the auditorium. Though they were sitting stoically, as they were taught was appropriate at such a gathering, they did give each other a small nod of recognition at the announcement. “However,” the commander continued, “it would be a shame to ignore the accomplishments of cadets Thrawn and Celchu. Therefore, they too will be awarded six weeks of leave, to spend as they choose over the Life Day holiday, and they will be recorded as co-winners in the Academy records.”

 

     Tycho, sitting with the other pilots, twisted around to find Thrawn, sitting among the other officer cadets. He was easy to spot, and Tycho gave him a quick grin before turning back around to face front again. He definitely liked the sound of this arrangement.

 

      The commander took the opportunity for a few more important announcements, and then dismissed them. Tycho lost track of Thrawn in the crowd, and as a result they didn’t catch up again until they had both made it back to their apartment half an hour later. Tycho arrived after Thrawn, and the moment the door closed behind him the Chiss was there, enveloping him in a tight hug.

 

     “I’ve been so worried about you,” Thrawn murmured. “And too scared to really _do_ anything about it.”

 

     “That’s not like you,” Tycho said, hugging Thrawn in return and resting his head on the other’s shoulder. “To be so scared of something, I mean.”

 

     Thrawn shook his head. “I’m not worth your career.”

 

     Tycho’s head jerked up. “Yes, you are. You most certainly are.”

 

     “Is that why you told your family about me?” Thrawn asked, smiling a little.

 

     “Yeah...I’m sorry, I should have told you about that,” Tycho replied, sliding one hand up to squeeze Thrawn’s shoulder.

 

      “You’re forgiven,” Thrawn told him, kissing his cheek.

 

     Tycho grinned and nuzzled him a little. “Ah, I’m looking forward to a nice, long break...”

 

     “Are you?” Thrawn asked, sounding terribly confused. “I mean...what are you going to _do_ with all that time free?”

 

     “What do you mean, what am I going to do?” Tycho asked, also sounding confused. “Rest, relax, go home and see my family, drag you to all the sites on Alderaan...”

 

     “You’re taking me home with you?”

 

     “If you want to go, yeah. If you have other plans though I understand.”

 

      Thrawn considered his options. “I don’t know what I would do with six weeks of free time. It’s just so excessive.”

 

     “How much time do you get back home?”

 

     Thrawn shook his head. “I’m Chiss. The concept of vacation isn’t one we really have.”

 

     “You’re kidding.”

 

     “Of course not!”

 

      Tycho laughed and put his head back on Thrawn’s shoulder. “Then I get to teach you how to have a vacation. You’re coming home with me and we’re going to be tourists on Alderaan. Maybe we can go somewhere else too, like Corellia, I bet you would like that.”

 

     Thrawn pondered, absent-mindedly rocking Tycho a little as he did. Tycho didn’t mind, though, so he just kept quiet and enjoyed it. Finally, Thrawn nodded. “I have another idea, actually. If you don’t mind travelling far from here for part of our...vacation.”

 

     “Hardly,” Tycho said. “What’s your plan?”

 

     Thrawn just chuckled a little. “Oh, you’ll see. You’ll see. Bring warm clothes.”              


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

     “ ‘Bring warm clothes,’ you said. ‘You’ll see where we’re going,’ you said. You never said anything about, ‘Tycho, those coordinates I gave you are going to land us right in the middle of every capital ship in my peoples’ fleet’ and I definitely would have remembered mention of ‘By the way, they don’t like intruders.’”

 

     Thrawn rolled his eyes at Tycho as he reached for the comm to respond to the rather angry-sounding information request they had just received. “To be fair, I forgot this year was the year of the Convocation,” he said. “I also forgot that this year it was to be held at Csilla. And apparently I lost track of the seasons here because I didn’t even realize it was Convocation season yet.” He held up a finger to stop Tycho from asking more questions and spoke into the comm, far too quickly for Tycho to pick up anything but Thrawn’s name. On the other end, someone answered, to which Thrawn replied, and then the other person made one final comment before the comm went dead. Thrawn sighed. “I have good news and bad news.”

 

     “Bad news first?” Tycho asked, nervously eyeing the various ships he could see out the viewport.

 

     “Remember how I told you my people don’t understand the concept of vacation?” Thrawn asked. Tycho nodded, so he explained, “I’m being forced to make an appearance at the opening of the Convocation. After that they’re going to decide what to do with me. I don’t think anyone is angry I’m here, it’s just...I’m not _supposed_ to be here. So I think it has them a little nervous.”

 

     “So what’s the good news?”

 

     Thrawn grinned at him. “The good news is you get to follow me around, and even Convocation gatherings don’t last all day. I’ll have plenty of time to show you around and just relax with you.”

 

     “Oh good,” Tycho said, though he still sounded a little tense. Some of the Chiss snubfighters were coming too close for comfort as far as he was concerned.

 

     The comm crackled to life again, this time with a different voice giving them instructions. Thrawn translated, and Tycho piloted them through the wall of ships onto the designated path, which would allow them to land on the planet’s surface. When they landed, Thrawn disappeared into the back areas of the their rented passenger shuttle to change into something more appropriate for being dragged off to formal military meetings, and Tycho joined him after getting everything locked down. Finally, uniforms on and shuttle secured, the two emerged into a massive and very chilly hangar bay.

 

     Around them, dozens of Chiss worked on dozens of ships of varying sizes and configurations As they exited their shuttle, Thrawn pointed around to the various ships and explained them to Tycho. “Looks like they’re keeping all of the House shuttles in one area. It makes sense, some of those capital ships we saw were actually from the individual planetary defense forces of the House homeworlds. Most of the rest of these are just fighter craft of various kinds, though some of those bigger ones are troop transports. They must have been shuttling passengers, it would be odd for them to come here for repairs instead of to the shipyards.” Thrawn’s explanation was interrupted by the arrival of two guards, who appeared to guide them to their ultimate destination – the enormous amphitheater where the meetings were being held.

 

     The amphitheater was a rather simple but elegant structure, built to have perfect acoustics and to allow those gathered within to sit in a series of perfect concentric circles, all facing a central platform bearing a speaker’s podium surrounded by a final ring of seats. The platform itself was separated from the rest of the seating by a wide ring of space, large enough for several people to walk in at the same time. Thrawn and Tycho were led to seats in the main seating area, a few rows up from where the main action would be taking place.

 

     “These are good seats,” Thrawn commented as they sat. “I can actually identify the people on the platform from here.”

 

     “Glad one of us can,” Tycho muttered. He looked around the room full of Chiss and shivered a little. “Don’t take this wrong, but I’ve just gone from only ever seeing you to seeing dozens if not hundreds of your people all at once, they all look the same to me, and having that many glowing eyes around me is creepy.”

 

     Thrawn laughed quietly. “And now you know how I felt when I first came to your part of the galaxy. Too many humans and you all look the same to me.”  


     Tycho shook his head and resolved to engage in some surreptitious Chiss-watching while they waited. For the most part, the Chiss ignored him and Thrawn, but every so often he would catch one staring or a see one whisper to a friend while motioning right to Tycho. A few other Chiss, mostly people he had known from his former command, came over to chat with Thrawn. Finally, the important people began arriving – eight individuals in colorful robes whose hoods hid their faces, along with even more individuals wearing what even Tycho could identify as high-ranking military uniforms. A few of the individuals stood out by virtue of their dazzlingly bright white uniforms.

 

     “Those must be a pain in the ass to keep clean,” Tycho said.

 

     “The white uniforms?” Thrawn asked. Tycho nodded in confirmation. “Well, you see, those are the highest ranked officers here. The Generals and the Admirals. They were stripped of their family affiliations, as I told you before. The white uniforms further symbolize their commitment to serving all Chiss. Besides, white is a striking color on a Chiss.”

 

     “You’re not kidding,” Tycho said. He studied the white-uniformed Chiss. Most were men, but a few were women. “Admirals, you said? So which one is this Ar’alani of yours?”

 

      A few heads turned towards Tycho at the mention of Ar’alani’s name, but Thrawn just waved their interest off. He waited until they weren’t paying attention, then said, “You see the one sitting next to the person in yellow and gray robes? That is her. And please keep your voice down, our relationship isn’t wrong, but it’s also not the kind of thing we shout about.”

 

     “Sorry,” Tycho said, blushing a little.

 

     “You didn’t know. It’s fine.”

 

      Tycho sat in silence for a few moments, then said, “So, you going to go say hi to her or something?”

 

      Thrawn nodded. “After the meeting though. Since my brother died she’s really the closest tie I have to my home, so...we should greet her. Actually, I owe greetings to the other officers and to each Aristocra as well.”

 

      Before Tycho could ask for a reminder about what an Aristocra was, the lights dimmed even further and all chatter immediately died out. For the next several hours, he sat beside a stiff-backed Thrawn and tried to comprehend the complicated formal Cheunh the entire meeting took place in, but eventually that proved to be too much and he completely tuned out. In fact, he strongly suspected that he fell asleep at some point, because one minute he was listening to a man in a grey uniform droning on about something and the next minute Thrawn was shaking him by the shoulder and everyone around him was getting up and moving around. “Did I miss anything good?” he asked.

 

     “Sadly no,” Thrawn said. “Again I apologize. These meetings are boring even for me and I can understand them. But given the nature of them, I don’t dare try to keep a running translation going for you.”

 

     “It’s fine, I probably wouldn’t understand what was going on anyway,” Tycho said, waving his hand and climbing to his feet, with a little help from Thrawn. “So now what, fancy greetings?”

 

      “Fancy greetings,” Thrawn confirmed. “Come on.”

 

      He worked his way to the nearest staircase down to the main floor, going slowly enough that Tycho could follow him. It was slow going anyway since everyone else in the room seemed to be trying to leave, with only Thrawn, Tycho, and a few others moving towards the center. But finally they made it, and it was much easier to maneuver once they were out of the crowd. Thrawn made his way towards the white-clad woman he had identified earlier, but paused and hung back a respectful distance when he noticed her conversing with the person she had been sitting beside.

 

      “What do the colors on the robes mean?” Tycho asked quietly, almost plastering himself to Thrawn’s side in the hopes that it might discourage some of the Chiss around him from trying to interact.

 

     “House colors,” Thrawn said. “These people are the Aristocras, the heads of each Family. Yellow is House Chaf, so unless things have changed that person is Chaf’orm’bintrano. Burgundy is Mitth. The head of my House was ill when I left and everyone thought she would die soon, so I doubt that’s her here. It could be someone representing her or it could be the new Aristocra. Copper-green is Inronkini, they mostly deal with science and such things.”

 

     “And none of this confuses you?” Tycho muttered.

 

     “I grew up with it, so no,” Thrawn replied. “Hang on for a minute,” he said, stalling Tycho’s next question, “I think an opening is presenting itself.”

 

     Indeed, just as he finished speaking, the Admiral and the Chaf Aristocra exchanged formal bows, and Chaf turned to two other Aristocra to speak with them. The Admiral, for her part, turned to collect some things from her spot on the platform. Thrawn wasted no time in stepping up onto the platform, Tycho on his heels, and quickly made his way to the Admiral’s side so he wouldn’t have to shout to get her attention.

 

     [Admiral,] he said in Cheunh by way of greeting.

 

     At first, she didn’t look up very far, just enough to notice the rank insignia on Thrawn’s chest. Otherwise, she kept her attention on her things. [This needs to be quick, Commander,] she replied in the same language. [I have another meeting. Surely you are aware of how Convocations work by now.]

 

      [Very much aware, Admiral,] Thrawn said. [But I would be remiss if I failed to greet you after our long and difficult separation.]

 

     Ar’alani’s eyebrow twitched and she finally stood up tall enough to look Thrawn square in the face. Tycho’s first impression of her, now that she was standing up and he was so close to her, was that she could outdo even Thrawn for stern looks. _Must be where he gets it from_. His second impression was that Thrawn had been seriously downplaying things by calling her “attractive.” Her uniform hid many details of her figure, but Tycho wouldn’t have placed her age at much past thirty ( _Force, who gets to be an Admiral that young?_ ) and he decided that she wouldn’t have been out of place on the fashion runway or as the leading lady in a high-budget Imperial holovid. She could definitely give that Wynnsa Starflare a run for her money.

 

     For a moment, Thrawn and Ar’alani stared at each other in silence, while Ar’alani processed what she was seeing right in front of her. Finally, she said, [I never expected to see you again. Your mission...]

 

     [Is still ongoing and successful,] Thrawn told her. [I’m here on something the Imperials call a] “vacation.” That last word came out in Basic, and Tycho fought a smile. Thrawn hadn’t been kidding when he said the Chiss had no concept of vacations.

 

     Ar’alani’s face twisted into a rather sour look. [What is this] “bahkayshun”?

 

     [A temporary cessation of one’s duties in favor of resting, relaxing, and doing whatever one wishes.]

 

     She snorted. [Disgraceful.]

 

     [But enjoyable.  You should try it sometime.]

 

     [What would I do without my duties to fulfill?]

 

     Thrawn smirked at her. [I can think of a few things, Admiral.]

 

     Tycho could have sworn he saw a bit of purple appear in the Admiral’s cheeks, but if he was right, she didn’t let on. She merely nodded to him and said to Thrawn, [Still collecting humans I see. Is this one K’rell’n as well?]

 

     “Aderaanian,” Thrawn corrected. [Not from the same planet as the others. His name is] “Tycho Celchu.”

 

     [Humans have such an odd naming system. Are you teaching him our language too?]

 

     Before Thrawn could answer, Tycho stepped in. [He is.]

 

     Well over a dozen pairs of glowing eyes turned to him and the entire room went deathly silent. [He’s bold,] Ar’alani said. [You have a knack for picking the interesting ones. Is he as useful as he is bold?]

 

     [I don’t choose my lovers based on their usefulness,] Thrawn said. At that, the eyes formerly focused on Tycho turned to Thrawn, and Ar’alani had to fight back a smile. She didn’t quite succeed.

 

     [Did you hear that, Aristocra?] she said, turning to the burgundy-covered Mitth Aristocra. [The human man is his lover. Do you have anything to say about that?]

 

      Tycho was feeling very confused by now, since he had managed to figure out that Thrawn was talking about him and had just called Tycho his lover. And now this Ar’alani was asking the Mitth Aristocra his (or her?) opinion on Thrawn’s relationship. Tycho desperately wanted to ask what difference it made, but he didn’t know how to in Cheunh, he wasn’t sure how Minnisiat would be received here, and he had the horrible feeling he had already overstepped his bounds anyway. Instead, he just swallowed his reaction and inched that much closer to Thrawn who, much to Tycho’s surprise, seemed just as perplexed as Tycho at Ar’alani’s question.

 

     The Aristocra shrugged, then reached up to push his hood back. [As long as he’s happy and staying out of trouble I can’t complain, can I? And in case you’re wondering, Admiral, I have a rather liberal interpretation of ‘staying out of trouble’ these days when it comes to my brother, seeing as he’s sacrificing so much in the name of his people.]

 

      Tycho caught the word “brother,” out of that whole long sentence, and was about to blurt an awkward question in Basic, but Thrawn’s reaction killed any response he could have made.

 

      “ _Thrass,_ ” Thrawn shouted, and before anyone could stop him he launched himself at the robed man. [You were _dead_ ,] he said, clinging to the other man. [ _Dead_. What happened? Why didn’t you _tell me_ you were alive? _Where have you been all this time when I needed you?_ ]

 

      “Thrawn...” the Aristocra sighed and wrapped his arms around Thrawn, holding him tightly and studiously ignoring the stares of the commanding officers and the other Aristocras.

 

      [Disgraceful,] sniffed an Aristocra a few feet from Tycho. [He goes to live among the humans and comes back to act like this. And his brother is no better, it seems.]

 

      Thrawn and Thrass ignored the man. Ar’alani just gave him a sharp scowl and opened her mouth to tell him off. But before she could Tycho drew himself up to his full height (such as it was) and stepped right up to the much taller Aristocra.

 

      [How dare you judge them?] Tycho said. He managed to get it out in Cheunh, but knowing he wouldn’t make it much farther in that language, immediately switched to Minnisiat. The Cheunh had certain grabbed attention, anyway. =Don’t you have siblings?= he asked. =I’m an older brother and that reaction seems perfectly normal to me. The only disgrace I see here is a politician sniffing and looking down his nose at a pair of brothers who each thought the other was lost to them, finally realizing that’s not true, and _enjoying_ their well-deserved reunion. So step off.=

 

    “ _Tycho,_ ” Thrawn said sharply, a look of absolute horror plastered on his face.

 

    Ar’alani just shrugged. [He speaks the truth. Aristocra, perhaps it would be best to just chalk this one up to a human not understanding Chiss manners and let it go.]

 

     [When did you become such a human-lover, Admiral?] the Aristocra spat at her. [Perhaps you should be stripped of your rank. You’re going soft.]

 

     [Over my dead body,] Thrass replied.

 

     [You were thought dead once before. I’m sure a true death could be arranged.]

 

     [Enough,] another officer interjected. [The human was out of line. But so are you. And while I for one will not risk a war by punishing the human, I will not stand for a Chiss to treat other Chiss so poorly. Your hatred for House Mitth is well known. Go stew in it elsewhere.]

 

     At first, it seemed that the Aristocra would argue, but he apparently decided he was outnumbered, because he turned on his heel and swept off with a few of the other Chiss who had been hanging around. Ar’alani just shook her head. [So difficult, that one.]

 

     Thrass refused to let Thrawn go until the angry Aristocra was out of sight, and even then only let him go enough to be able to see his face. [Have you made arrangements for a place to stay?]

 

     [We hadn’t gotten that far,] Thrawn told him. [I was told to come here almost the moment we arrived in Csilla’s airspace.]

 

     [Then you will stay with me. No arguments. I have more than enough room.]

 

     Thrawn snorted at him. [They made you an Aristocra, I would hope so. How did that happen anyway? I’ve never heard of a trial-born managing that.]

 

     Thrass just shook his head and finally let go of Thrawn all the way, motioning for Tycho to follow. [It’s a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you later. Let’s get you two settled first and then we can eat. I’m hungry. ...Does he eat Chiss food?]

 

     [Mostly. Some is quite spicy for him though.]

 

     [Ah well. At least he tries.]

 

      Thrawn looked back over his shoulder at Tycho and smiled. [Indeed he does, brother.]


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 

     As it turned out, becoming an Aristocra had made Thrass filthy rich. Thrawn didn’t seem to care one way or the other, and the way he explained it the government took care of providing the citizens with life necessities anyway, so it wasn’t as though Thrass needed the money. But it seemed that high-ranking politicians were high-ranking politicians anywhere, and Chiss space was no different.

 

     Of course, Tycho had no idea just how much money Thrass had at his disposal until the next morning, when he woke up to find Thrass and Thrawn going over a rather long list together. It was early, so Tycho didn’t catch most of what they were saying, but he did hear his own name come up a few times. Finally, he wandered over to the table the two Chiss occupied to see what was going on.

 

     “My brother has arranged some welcome-home festivities,” Thrawn said dryly.

 

      “Festivities?” Tycho asked. “Like what?”

 

     “Concerts, a special private viewing of an art exhibit, a staging of an opera, a staging of a play, and finally, the Chiss version of a dinner party.” He shook his head a little. “I’m trying to convince him it’s too much, but...”

 

     “I don’t know, it could be fun,” Tycho said. “I never get to see much of your culture, living out in the Core and all. I’d like to see it.”

 

     “You’re not going to understand a word of what’s going on.”

 

     “Won’t be the first time,” Tycho replied. “I survived yesterday, didn’t I?”

 

     “Barely.” Thrawn laughed. “Alright, fine, no cancelling things.”

 

     Tycho sat at the table and drummed his fingers on it. “Who’s paying for all of this?”

 

     Thrawn gave him a confused look. “My brother, who else?”

 

     “He has that kind of money?”

 

     “Certainly. He is the head of House Mitth now.” Thrawn shrugged. “I thought you came from money?”

 

    Tycho nodded. “My father owns the biggest HoloNet provider on Alderaan. He still can’t arrange and pay for that kind of stuff.”

 

     “Yes, well, not many can. And most wouldn’t even if they could. Thrass is...well...he likes to show me off.”

 

     Tycho laughed. “Proud older brother, eh?”

 

     “Indeed.”

 

     Thrass just looked back and forth between them, and when he finally sensed a break in the conversation, he cleared his throat to get Thrawn’s attention again. Tycho watched as the brothers went back to planning their events.

 

    The next ten days were packed with events, and Tycho found himself dressed up and out of the house at some event or other every night. First there was an opera, which turned out to be much less operatic than he was used to. The pace was incredibly slow, almost painfully so. At one point, he realized he had just spent half an hour watching a character making a cup of tea. In addition, the theater was kept incredibly hot and the lighting was turned even lower than he was used to from his time with Thrawn, and Tycho soon found himself drifting in and out of sleep. The only thing that comforted him was the times he noticed other Chiss also dozing off.

 

     “Oh yes, we all sleep through that,” Thrawn told him on the way home. “Some say it’s best observed in a half-asleep state. Makes it more mystical, or something.”

 

      The second and third nights were both taken up with demonstrations of traditional Chiss music and dance, which Tycho was surprised to see comprised dozens of different styles. There were the slow, stately formal dances, performed by dancers in elaborate garb and often with equally elaborate makeup, expressing intense emotions with movements as subdued and subtle as the slight tilt of a head or the direction of their gaze. There were demonstrations of the peasant dances and music from some of the more distant colonies. Tycho found that his favorite was the common dance of Csilla, particularly the ones performed in hard shoes with percussive steps meant to mark the rhythm in complex ways. He was both impressed and a little frightened by the militaristic precision with which the groups of dancers performed. If they were even a split second off in their choreography, he couldn’t see it.

 

     The fourth night found them at a freezing cold art gallery, which displayed a whole series of ice sculptures. Tycho had to admit that ice sculptures seemed like a fitting art form for an ice-bound planet, and when he expressed this view to Thrawn, he soon found himself being whisked off to see the mother of all ice sculptures: a building, closer to the surface of Csilla, built entirely out of ice.

 

      “It’s never finished, constantly evolving,” Thrawn explained. “The ice moves slowly, so within one person’s lifetime it won’t change that much, but if you compare the way it is now to pictures of when it was first built, you can see that it’s very different.”

 

      “What do you use it for?” Tycho asked.

 

      “Big events. I hear it’s a popular location for weddings, on the rare instance that someone is willing to spend the money and time on a traditional ceremony.”

 

      The fifth and sixth nights featured more opera, though this was in a form much more familiar to Tycho and even though he couldn’t understand a word of what was going on, he felt he had a decent enough grasp of the storyline to at least stay awake this time. The biggest difference from what Tycho was used to was that the story was so long, the performance was started on one night and finished on the second. Thrawn translated while Thrass explained that in the past, these marathon performances would have been done all in one day, but that certain aspects of modern life made that impractical and that people usually planned on devoting two or even three evenings to them instead of a whole day.      

 

     The seventh day involved another private museum viewing, though this time the art was more what Tycho was used to rather than focusing purely on ice sculptures. In fact, a rather large portion of the museum was devoted to art from the Core, which surprised him.

 

      “I thought Chiss didn’t go to the Core that often,” he said.

 

      “We don’t,” Thrawn said. “But you don’t have to go to the Core yourself to acquire good art.”

 

     “How many of these are reproductions?” he asked.

 

      Thrawn asked Thrass, who went to find a curator to ask, who relayed the answer to Thrawn, who then translated, “None of them. All originals.”

 

     “I’ll be damned,” Tycho muttered. “There are museums on Coruscant that will kill for this collection.”

 

     “Yes,” Thrawn replied, though he didn’t say much else on the matter.

 

     On the eighth day, they saw a play. Tycho was pleased to note that he could understand a good portion of the dialogue, something he hadn’t been able to do as much with the operas because of the nature of sung Cheunh. It turned out that the play was supposed to be a comedy. Tycho missed all of the jokes, except for when the Chiss around him tittered in amusement, but at least he could understand the words.

 

     Where the eighth night had made him feel good about his Cheunh, the ninth made him feel awful. Tycho and the brothers attended a small gathering of high-ranking Chiss officers and politicians, as well as some of the most respected Chiss artists, for a poetry reading. And Tycho couldn’t understand a damn word anyone said.

 

     “I have no idea what I’m clapping for,” Tycho whispered in Thrawn’s ear as they politely applauded the fifth reader. “Why can’t I understand anything?”

 

      “Because they’re all using poetic Cheunh,” Thrawn replied. “It’s very formal, very fancy, very stylized. Not at all like regular spoken Cheunh. Even we native speakers have a difficult time with it. Fortunately, poetry appreciation for the Chiss relies as much on things like the rhythm of the language and the way it flows as it does on understanding the words.”

 

     Finally, the tenth night arrived, and with it came a flood of Chiss to the temporary quarters Thrass called home while he was on Csilla. Tycho had no idea what to expect, and all Thrawn could seem to tell him was that they were going to have a Chiss dinner party. So Tycho, on Thrawn’s advice, dug out the dress uniform he had brought, dressed, and headed off to the main room where the party would be held.

 

     The room was already filled with Chiss when he arrived, all in dress uniforms or other formal attire, all chatting in a subdued manner while they sipped beverages and waited for dinner to begin. Tycho worked his way through the crowd, hunting for Thrawn. But when he finally found Thrawn he almost wished he hadn’t.

 

     The one complaint Tycho had had about their evening entertainment so far was that Ar’alani was almost always there, and when she was there she always seemed to find her way to Thrawn’s side to take up most of his time with...whatever it was they talked about. Tycho couldn’t understand their conversation so he had no idea what they discussed. And now, here she was, in a simple but elegant white dress, talking and laughing with Thrawn. Tycho watched, growing more and more frustrated, until at one point both Chiss laughed at some point one or the other had made and Ar’alani made a great show of brushing her hair back over her shoulder. Thrawn just grinned at her the whole time. Tycho huffed, and stalked off to find Thrass instead. Even though they had a difficult time communicating verbally, Tycho felt that the older Chiss was reasonably good company. Maybe he could find some way of asking about Thrawn and Ar’alani. Were Chiss polygamous? Did Thrawn think he could keep up a relationship with his Admiral _and_ with Tycho? Because if he did, that wasn’t going to fly with the Alderaanian.

 

     They were all called to dinner before Tycho could find Thrass, so he headed for the dining room and hunted for his seat instead. Fortunately, Thrawn had had the sense to write Tycho’s place card himself and had written it in the Aurabesh so Tycho could read it. Also fortunately, Tycho found that Thrawn was seated right beside him.

 

     Much to his displeasure, though, he soon noted that Ar’alani was sitting on Thrawn’s other side.

 

     They had barely made it through the first course, a chilled vegetable salad with thin slices of some kind of oddly crunchy, jelly-like substance mixed in, when Tycho decided he couldn’t take their flirting all night. He leaned over and whispered to Thrawn, “How long is this going to last?”

 

     Thrawn dabbed a stray drop of dressing off of his lips as he considered his answer. “A few hours, most likely. Dinner is large, there are seven more courses to go, and then after dinner we have drinks and a discussion, and then after that we retire to the drawing room to listen to a short presentation by a speaker, and then it’s over. Why?”

 

     “I’m just not feeling very much like partying tonight,” Tycho replied tersely before sitting upright again and stoically working his way through his salad.

 

     Things were tense between the two for the rest of the dinner, then, after dessert, Tycho leaned over again and said, “I’m tired, and this is too much for me, so I’m going to bed. What do I have to do, tell your brother I’m sorry or something?”

 

     Thrawn gave him a concerned look and tried to squeeze his hand under the table, but Tycho pulled his hand away before Thrawn could really finish the gesture. “Ah, no, just go, I’ll make excuses for you,” Thrawn said. Before he could say anything else, Tycho pushed himself away from the table and made a beeline for their bedroom.

 

     He had been there for a good half an hour, considering his next move, when someone knocked quietly on the door. “Tycho?” It was Thrawn. “Can I come in?”

 

     “Yeah,” Tycho called, though he didn’t make any move to open the door himself

 

     Thrawn came in, and frowned a bit when he noticed an annoyed-looking Tycho sitting on the foot of the bed. “...I thought you weren’t feeling well,” he said.

 

      “I’m surprised Ar’alani let you out of her sight long enough for you to come check,” Tycho replied.

 

     “...Tycho, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting odd all night.”

 

     “I don’t know, I guess I just think it’s a little odd for your superior office to be all over you the way she is, what with the laughing and flipper her hair at you and all.”

 

      Thrawn frowned. “...You are aware of the arrangement I had with her.”

 

      “And does she know it’s over?”

 

      “Tycho--”

 

     “Well? It’s an easy enough question.”

 

      Thrawn sighed. “I have not had a chance to discuss it with her directly, but I did tell her that we’re in a relationship.”

 

     “Yeah, well, I don’t think that was enough, and I don’t do threesomes. Or multiple relationships, or whatever they’re called.”

 

      “Tycho—“

 

      “So until you’ve told her for sure,” Tycho said, waving his hand to cut Thrawn off, “I’m going to be sleeping on the couch. And then maybe taking the second half of my leave by myself. Goodnight, Thrawn.”

 

     “But Tycho—“

 

     “Goodnight,” he repeated, more firmly this time, and motioned to the door. Thrawn just sighed and shook his head, then quietly left to return to the party.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho didn’t sleep well on the couch. It wasn’t meant for sleeping on, it wasn’t designed for optimal comfort for humans anyway, and in order to conserve energy the Chiss didn’t heat their common rooms at night. So Tycho was cold and a bit sore on top of being annoyed. So it was that, when Thrawn slipped into the living room at four in the morning, Tycho was actually wide awake.

 

     Thrawn came over and dropped some clothes at Tycho’s feet. “Come on, get dressed,” he whispered. “I want to show you something.”

 

     “The sun isn’t even up,” Tycho groused. “What could be that important?”

 

     “You’ll see,” Thrawn whispered. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

 

     “I’ve had my fill of incomprehensible art, thanks.”

 

     Thrawn sighed. “Just this once, will you please trust me and not question it? Just put your clothes on and follow me? I wouldn’t be dragging you out of bed in the middle of the night if it wasn’t important.”

 

      “Fine,” Tycho grumbled. He rolled off the couch and pulled the clothes on as quickly as he could. Thrawn had brought him a pair of pants lined with some kind of soft, warm material, a thick sweater, some equally thick socks, a pair of tall boots, and a fluffy black scarf. Tycho wrapped the scarf around his neck and turned to look at Thrawn, who nodded in satisfaction.

 

     “Let’s go,” he said. Tycho reluctantly followed him out the front door and down one of the many underground streets in the under-ice city. There were few Chiss out at this time of day, and the few who were out regarded the pair with curiosity but otherwise left them alone. Thrawn led him down the main road for a few minutes, then began turning down a series of alleys, each narrower than the last. Finally, he came to the end of one, which had a rough rock wall at the end of it. A sturdy ladder had been built against the rock wall, and Thrawn started climbing the ladder. Tycho sighed, but followed him.

 

     The ladder deposited them on a ledge. A few feet beyond where they came out, a wall had been built that was clearly meant to help keep ice and snow out of the city below. An old-fashioned door had been built into the wall, and Thrawn pulled it open, then motioned for Tycho to go through. Once they were both inside, Thrawn closed and latched the door behind them, then stepped further into the small room beyond it.

 

      A comfortable-looking white couch, long enough to seat four or five people with no trouble, sat in the middle of the otherwise empty room. It looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time, but otherwise was clean enough. Thrawn sat on it and motioned for Tycho to join him. Tycho did, though he kept more space between himself and Thrawn than he would have if he had been in a better mood. He watched Thrawn for a few moments, then turned to see what Thrawn was looking at.

 

      The entire front wall of the room was nothing but a thick layer of transparisteel, or whatever the Chiss used in its place, and seemed to be looking out over the surface of Csilla. But it was still quite dark and Tycho couldn’t see very well.

 

      “So...what are we doing here?” he finally asked. “What is this place?”

 

      “It’s an old observation room that was built for keeping an eye on weather patterns on the planet’s surface,” Thrawn said. “It was abandoned for that purpose years ago, long before I was born, but nobody bothered sealing it off. My brother and I discovered it when we were quite young, and when he was old enough to do such things he had a couch installed in here to make it more comfortable for me whenever I would come.”

 

      “You came here often?”

 

      “Oh yes,” Thrawn said. “All the time. Especially before big, important things like my exams. The night before I had to decide whether or not to accept House Mitth’s offer of merit adoption, I spent most of the night here.” 

 

      Tycho nodded a little and kept staring out the viewport, then said, “But there’s not a whole lot to see.”

 

     “Well, on a very clear night you can see the stars,” Thrawn said. “But that’s not the best part of this place.”

 

     “So what is?” Tycho asked, still trying to figure out why they were here.

 

     Thrawn checked a small chrono he had strapped to his wrist, then smiled at Tycho and held finger to his own lips. “Shh. You’ll see soon enough. It’s almost time.”

 

      Tycho frowned, but did as Thrawn asked and turned his attention to the viewport once again. He almost dozed off for a bit, but then, during a less-drowsy moment, he noticed that the sky was noticeably lighter. In fact, it was getting brighter and brighter as he watched. The snow and ice outside the viewport was slowly turning from plain white to a pale, sparkling blue, then as the sky took on yellow and pink tones, the snow and ice did too. Soon enough, the sun began to appear over the horizon, and as it did the snow and ice beyond the viewport once again turned a dazzling white, reflecting the sunlight in every direction. For the most part, the sunlight made the snow and ice sparkle like a vast plain of diamonds, but every so often it hit an ice formation or a patch of snow at just the right angle to send rainbows dancing everywhere.

 

     By the time the sun had gotten high enough for the display to be over, Tycho was staring out the viewport in open-mouthed awe. “...Okay,” he finally said. “That was worth getting up for.”

 

      He looked over at Thrawn, who was smiling sadly at the scene before them. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? And it happens almost every day, though of course it’s never exactly the same twice. You could come up here every single day for years and never see the same exact thing twice.”

 

      Tycho nodded a bit. “Well, it’s gorgeous...but...it doesn’t change that I’m upset with you.”

 

     “I know.” Thrawn paused and took the opportunity to turn his entire body to face Tycho, tucking on leg up on the couch to facilitate the change of position. “I didn’t expect it to. But I thought it might help you understand something.”

 

     “Which is...?”

 

      Thrawn sighed. “Tycho, believe me, when I was here before my people didn’t like me this much. Thrass did, of course, and Ar’alani and I got along reasonably well, even if we didn’t always see eye to eye on military issues. But to Chiss society at large, I was just that weirdo Mitth’raw’nuruodo, who was always pushing boundaries and doing things that were just this side of acceptable so I couldn’t get in any _real_ trouble for them. But now I’m practically a hero. Do you know why?”

 

     “...No.” Tycho shook his head. It was something he had never really thought to ask.

 

      Thrawn just nodded patiently. “We Chiss have a strong attachment to home. Home can mean many things for us, but if you were to ask several Chiss for a textbook definition of the term, they would all tell you that the concept of ‘home’ encompasses the place we were born, the place we will be buried when we die, the place we share with our loved ones, the places we make special for ourselves, and the places we are willing to sacrifice everything about ourselves for to protect. This concept of home is related to our most intimate term for family, which includes those people we have chosen to bring into our lives and with whom we feel the strongest bonds. Those people may be blood relatives, but they don’t have to be.”

 

     He paused for breath and looked out the viewport again. “When we enter the military, we all know that the time may come – will most likely come – when we are asked to put all of those things aside for the good of the Chiss people. It’s something we take very seriously. The thing is, though, the average Chiss warrior will only lose home and family at their own death. They will never have to live with the pain of being apart from those things while alive. So what separates me from other Chiss and makes me so damn special now is that I’m still alive, but I have made that sacrifice for the good of all Chiss. To protect my people from the threat posed by the Empire – and make no mistake, Tycho, I don’t blame you for this one bit but the Empire _does_ pose a threat to us – I have given up my home and my family and gone to serve that Empire, because the alternative is simply unacceptable. Believe me, if it didn’t have to be that way, I wouldn’t be in the Empire, separated from the places I call home and the people I call family.”

 

     “Thrawn...” Tycho sighed and rubbed his head a little. This was such a deep conversation to be having this early in the morning on so little sleep. “That’s all very...moving, it really is, but what does it have to do with you and me and Ar’alani?”

 

     “Because, Tycho,” Thrawn said, “if someone told me that the only way I could be with you was to sacrifice those things all over again, to give up the chance of ever seeing my home and family again...it wouldn’t even be a contest. I would choose you in a heartbeat.”

 

     Tycho just stared at Thrawn, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to formulate an answer. “But Ar’alani...”

 

     “Is someone I had a lot of fun with in the past. But more importantly, she’s my superior office and someone I match wits with frequently, as she is about the only person I have ever met who has even the hope of keeping up with me in certain situations. There is a _reason_ I can talk circles around my instructors, you know.”

 

     “I just...you’ve never...we cuddle and things, but...” Tycho looked horribly confused.

 

     “Among humans, an admission like mine is usually accompanied by something a bit more...physical, isn’t it?” Thrawn asked.

 

     “Or comes after, yeah,” Tycho said. “I mean, I’m not complaining, a lot of old stories have it go this way.”

 

      Thrawn leaned forward a bit, then wrapped a bit of Tycho’s scarf in his fingers and gently pulled the other closer. “Well, I’m not against moving on to the next stage of things, if you aren’t.”

 

     “Only if you promise me one thing.”

 

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Name it.”

 

     Tycho reached out and grabbed Thrawn’s shoulders, pulling them closer together, then hissed, “You are _so_ coming to Alderaan with me when we leave here, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

 

     “Of course not,” Thrawn said. And then they kissed, and there was no need to say anything else at all.

 

      By the time they came up for air, Tycho had somehow climbing onto Thrawn, straddling his lap and grinding against him a bit. His cheeks turned bright red when he realized what he had been doing.

 

     “I see I’m not the only one who was suppressing things,” Thrawn commented. “Perhaps I have been too slow in all of this.”

 

     “I’m not complaining. Now shut up and kiss me again,” Tycho ordered, though the lop-sided grin on his face softened the command and made it clear he wasn’t trying to be harsh.

 

     “Yes sir,” Thrawn replied, and wrapped his arms tightly around Tycho’s waist as they kissed once more.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

     By the time they returned to Thrass’s quarters, the older Chiss was awake and having breakfast. He raised an eyebrow at them as they returned, but didn’t ask where they had been or what they had been doing. Tycho was grateful. Not that anything had happened beyond making out, but it still would have been awkward trying to explain that to his boyfriend’s older brother.

 

     Boyfriend. Thinking of Thrawn that was awkward, somehow. The word just didn’t seem to fit him. It seemed terribly informal, and Thrawn was always so formal.

 

     As the two joined Thrass at the table, the older Chiss turned his attention to Tycho. [Feeling better, I see,] he said. [We were worried when you ran out like that, and even more worried when Thrawn went to check on you and only returned to the party for a few minutes.]

 

     Tycho looked back and forth between them a bit, wondering if he had heard right. “You didn’t stay until the end of the party?” he finally asked Thrawn.

 

     “I only went back long enough to take care of some unfinished business,” he said. “And also to give you time to move to the couch, since you said you wanted to.”

 

     Tycho felt his stomach clench. “Unfinished business?”

 

     Thrawn sighed. “I took the liberty of informing my Admiral that you thought we were flirting and it needed to stop. She was mortified, of course, as she had never intended to step on your toes.”

 

    “Oh.” The human nodded and turned his attention back to his food. “Well...that’s okay then.”

 

     Thrawn just smiled and squeezed Tycho’s knee. But before he could say anything else, Thrass was chattering away at them. Tycho didn’t catch most of it, but he could have sworn he heard the words “bath” and “hot springs” in there somewhere. Also something about “going” and “needing.”

 

     “Thrawn...did he just say I need a bath?” Tycho asked.

 

      “What? No! He was saying he thought we should go to the baths today. He thought it might be relaxing.”

 

     “...We have a bath here, don’t we?” Tycho asked, feeling terribly confused.

 

     “Yeah, but not like what he’s talking about. These are huge public baths, all fed from the natural underground hot springs, all supposedly with various healing properties depending on what minerals are in the water. And at the bath houses you can get all kinds of other services – steam rooms, dry saunas, massages, salon services, whatever you want.”

 

    Tycho’s lips twitched. “Salon services? Like, hair styling and stuff.”

 

     “Yes, why?”

 

     The Alderaanian struggled not to laugh at the looks Thrawn and Thrass gave him, and waved his hand. “Nothing. It’s just...well, now I know why you always look so damn perfect.”

 

     Thrawn just rolled his eyes. “So you’ll go with us, then?”

 

     “Yeah, fine, I’ll go. I’m not getting a manicure or anything like that though.”

 

     After breakfast, they all packed bags with toiletries, towels, and a change of clothes, loaded into Thrass’s official and heavily-protected speeder, and sped off to the nearest high-class bath house. Said bath house was a good half hour from where they were staying, on the outskirts of the city in an area that was clearly geared towards tourists. The bath house itself was attached to a massive, ornate resort complex, and seemed quite busy. Tycho noticed many Chiss of all ages going in and out as they pulled up at the main entrance.

 

     “Kids come here too?” he asked, eyeing a family herding three small children out of the building.

 

     “Oh yes,” Thrawn replied. “A place like this has many different pools available for use, including some designated for families. The water is a little cooler in those pools, so it doesn’t hurt the children.” He climbed out after Thrass, then turned to help Tycho out too. “We’ll probably use the hotter pools.”

 

     Upon entering the bathhouse, they found themselves in a sprawling lobby filled with elegant artwork, all related to the fine art of bathing. It took Tycho a moment to notice that every single one of the paintings, sculptures, and friezes features nude Chiss, but once he did, his cheeks burned red. “What’s with all the nude art?” he whispered. “There are kids here!”

 

     “And?” Thrawn asked, grinning a bit. “You humans are such prudes. It’s not like they have pornography on the walls.”

 

     “But...but...”

 

     “Among other body parts, yes,” Thrawn said. As soon as Thrass had finished paying for them, he grabbed Tycho’s arm and dragged the human along to the locker rooms, which were well separated from the lobby by several doors, a narrow hallway, and an elaborate and nearly-empty lounge.

 

     “Fancy,” Tycho said.

 

     “Thrass got us the VIP package, I see,” Thrawn said dryly. “You have to pay extra to access this lounge. Naturally, few people bother. Come on, lockers are through here.”

 

     There were two locker rooms side by side. Thrawn, Thrass, and Tycho went to the one on the left, which was filled with all the amenities they needed for a pleasant stay: lockers for their things, a comfortable changing area, a well-appointed vanity area for those who wanted to fix their hair before leaving, and several fancy showers. A couple of Chiss were already showering, and as Tycho observed (trying so hard not to stare – he hated to admit it but he was still fascinated by the fact that _everything_ was blue), Thrawn and Thrass stripped down and headed for the showers too.

 

     “We bathe first so the shared water stays clean,” Thrawn said.

 

     And then, for the first time, something clicked in Tycho’s head and it all made sense. The nude art, the showers, the people walking around in little more than a towel... “Wait. Are these _nude baths_?” he hissed at Thrawn.

 

     “I wasn’t aware there was any other kind,” Thrawn said. “What are you worried about? We’re all men. We all have pretty much the same parts.”

 

      The ‘pretty much’ caused Tycho to look down, right at Thrawn’s crotch. The Chiss just laughed. “Come on, you can’t get in with your clothes. You don’t want to sit in here all day, do you? It’s fine. Nobody is going to care.”

 

      “People are going to stare at me!”

 

     “Yes, because you’re human. People do it to me every day in Imperial space and I have survived this long.” Thrawn patted his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be right there with you.”

 

     Tycho finally resigned himself to giving it a try, stripped out of his clothes, and climbed into one of the showers. He scrubbed himself clean, stoically avoiding the stares of the strange Chiss who passed by, then climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist to follow Thrawn and Thrass into the main bathing area.

 

     They entered a cavernous room built to look like the inside of a partially-finished cave. The floor was covered in small, rock-shaped tiles in various shades of blue and grey, with just enough roughness to them to keep people from slipping even if the floor or their feet were soaking wet. The lower portion of the wall was decorated with similar tiles, mostly in shades of blue, and at just a bit above shoulder height on Tycho the neat tiles gave way to what appeared to be rough-hewn rock. Tycho kept looking up, towards the ceiling, where he saw massive wrought-iron lamps with glass in shades of blue, green, and cream hanging from the ceiling in random spots and at random lengths. Tycho brought his gaze back to the walls eventually, finally noticing the doors leading off to various other parts of the complex. Between the doors, though, lay what they had come for – as series of large pools, each one a slightly different irregular shape, like natural lakes that just happened to form there. As he got closer to the pools, he noticed that the interior of each was lined with different colored tiles.

 

 

     “What’s with the different colors?” he asked Thrawn.

 

     “Indicates different things about the pool, like water temperature and alleged benefits of the minerals in the water. The warmer the color, the hotter the water. You might like this one, actually.” He had stopped beside a pool lined with pale yellow tiles. Nobody else was in it. Thrawn dropped his towel at the edge and climbed down the small series of steps into the pool, taking a seat on the ledge that ran around the inside. “...I like it, anyway,” he said, and laughed a little.

 

     Tycho gingerly followed behind him. The water was quite hot, but not uncomfortably so, and after getting used to it a bit he was finally able to sit down beside Thrawn. At first they sat there awkwardly, Tycho studying the patterns in the tiles on the other side of the pool, then Thrawn casually put his arm around Tycho’s shoulders.

 

     “This kind of thing would never happen on Alderaan,” Tycho said.

 

     “Does it bother you?” Thrawn asked.

 

     “No...it just takes some getting used to. Your culture is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I don’t know what to make of things most of the time.”

 

     “I know the feeling,” Thrawn replied dryly, kissing Tycho’s cheek. “But you get used to it, and you get on with things. And hopefully you wind up enjoying yourself and not hating everything around you.”

 

      “...Is that how it was for you? You hated everything?” Tycho asked.

 

     “Before I met you, anyway.” Thrawn nodded. “I’m not really looking forward to going back. But there’s no choice.”

 

     Tycho smiled at him. “You’ll be with me,” he said. “That’s something good.”

 

     “Of course.” Thrawn smiled back, then closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the side of the pool. “Somebody somewhere needs to build something like this in the Empire. Csilla can’t possibly be the only planet in the galaxy with good hot springs.”

 

     Anything Tycho would have said was interrupted by the arrival of Thrass, who apparently just _had_ to be in the same pool as his brother. Tycho twitched a little as Thrass plopped down on the other side of Thrawn and started chattering away in Cheunh that was far too fast and exuberant for Tycho to understand. “He’s chaperoning us, isn’t he?” Tycho commented dryly when Thrass finally stopped for a breath.

 

     Thrawn nodded just a bit. “Typical Chiss older brother. Some things just never change.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Finally, the day came when they were to leave Csilla to travel to Alderaan, where they would spend the rest of their holiday before returning to the Academy for the final semester. Tycho spent most of the morning darting around Thrass’s apartments, hunting for the things he had taken out and somehow managed to scatter all over, and carting them all back to his room to shove them in a bag. If he forgot something here, he knew he would never see it again. It wasn’t like they could just pop back whenever they wanted and pick things up, and it wasn’t like Thrass could just ship things to them at random. So Tycho put extra effort into making sure they didn’t forget anything important.

 

     When he finally had everything packed and ready to go, he went in search of Thrawn. He found Thrawn and Thrass both in the common living area. “Thrawn, I’ve got all the stuff packed up and if we don’t leave now we’ll be late, so...”

 

     He trailed off. Thrawn and Thrass were sitting huddled together on the couch, clinging to each other in a rather sad and pathetic way. Tycho was so used to seeing both Chiss, but especially Thrawn, as strong and independent, that at first he couldn’t quite register what he was seeing. But as he watched the brothers, snippets of conversations he had had with Thrawn flashed through his head. He remembered Thrawn mentioning Thrass’s death, that whole conversation about leaving his home and family for the Empire, how Thrawn would have chosen to do it all over again if it was the only way to be with Tycho. He could once again see, in his mind’s eye, the photo album full of pictures of Thrass that Thrawn kept hidden away where nobody else could ever get to it.

 

     He snapped back to reality long enough to notice both Chiss looking at him, Thrass with an absolute death grip on Thrawn’s hand and Thrawn looking on the verge of tears. “Actually, on second thought, I just thought of some things I need to check on again, so you two take your time,” Tycho said. He rushed off to find something else to do, leaving the brothers alone for as long as they needed to finish their goodbyes.

 

     Half an hour later, Thrawn appeared in the door of the bedroom they had shared. “Tycho? Are you ready?”

 

      “Yeah, you?”

 

      Thrawn pondered for a second, then shook his head. “No. But staying longer isn’t going to change that.”

 

     Tycho just nodded and stood up, gathering his things before going to Thrawn. He rose up on his toes a little to kiss Thrawn’s cheek. “You going to be alright?” he asked softly.

 

      Thrawn pondered more, and shook his head again. “What am I supposed to do without my brother, Tycho? He’s not dead but he might as well be...him and Ar’alani, and everyone else, they may as well be dead when I go back out there...”

 

      “You know, I think Thrass is really proud of you. And Ar’alani and all the rest of them. They wouldn’t let you go out there and be the one thing between the Chiss and the rest of the galaxy if they didn’t think you could do it.”

 

     “I know, but I miss them. Wouldn’t you miss _your_ family and _your_ people if you couldn’t see them again? Wouldn’t you hate it if you couldn’t go back to Alderaan anymore?” Thrawn asked.

 

     Tycho set his bag down and hugged Thrawn tightly. “Of course I would. I’m not saying you shouldn’t. I’m just saying...it’s okay, and I know you can make it, and you don’t have to try to do it alone because I’ll be there even if they can’t be.”

 

     Thrawn hugged Tycho in return, taking several long seconds to regain his composure before finally letting the other go and grabbing his share of the luggage. With Thrass in the lead, they returned to the hangar bay their shuttle had stayed in all this time, and quickly put their bags in the shuttle before going to say a final goodbye.

 

     By the time they exited the shuttle, Ar’alani had arrived, dressed in her dazzling white uniform, hair pulled back in a tight knot at the nape of her neck. She and Thrawn spoke briefly, then saluted each other. Much to Tycho’s surprise she turned and give him a shallow, stiff bow before turning on her heel and marching off to her own shuttle, an entire entourage of guards and aides following behind.

 

     Thrawn, meanwhile, had moved on to his brother. They were embracing again, Thrass rubbing Thrawn’s back and murmuring in his ear the whole time. Tycho hung back so he would be out of the way, and it wasn’t until Thrawn finally pulled away from Thrass that he dared move. Thrass followed Thrawn all the way to the foot of the boarding ramp and watched as Thrawn disappeared into the shuttle, then turned and grabbed Tycho by the shoulder.

 

     “You watch him,” Thrass said in Basic so heavily accented that it took Tycho a minute to realize Thrass had even attempted the language. “You take care of him.”

 

     He reached up to pat Thrass’s hand. [I will], he promised in Cheunh that was probably no better that Thrass’s basic. But Thrass gave him a small smile and nodded in understanding, so Tycho decided it couldn’t have been that bad. He gave Thrass’s hand a final pat, then climbed into the shuttle too. Thrawn had clearly been watching for him because the moment he cleared the ramp, it closed behind him without Tycho even looking for the controls. He made his way to the cockpit and settled into the pilot’s seat. “I’ve got this,” he said to Thrawn. “Don’t worry about helping me fly.”

 

     Thrawn just nodded, eyes fixed on Thrass, who was standing a safe distance away to watch their takeoff. Tycho took extra care to make sure the takeoff was steady and safe, not something Thrass could criticize. And then, within minutes, they were in hyperspace on their way back to the Core.

 

      Thrawn didn’t move for a long time. He just slouched in the copilot’s seat, staring at his hands in his lap. Finally, Tycho got up and went to kiss his cheek, which made him look up and focus on Tycho.

 

      “Why don’t you get some rest?” Tycho suggested. “It’s a long trip from here to Alderaan, and you don’t have to stay up here the whole time.”

 

     Thrawn nodded and climbed out of his seat, then headed for the bunks in the back. “....Tycho?”

 

     “Yeah?”

 

     “Thank you.”

 

     “For what?”

 

      Thrawn grinned at him. “For being there.” Before Tycho could ask more questions, he disappeared into the back for a nap.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, early this morning, I'm leaving for a couple of weeks in Japan. Since it's a long drive to the airport followed by a long flight to Japan, there may not be another update for a day or two. And then when I do update it's not going to be at the usual time due to the time difference. But I'll do my best to post at least a few updates while I'm there! Send good vibes my way...I'm kind of scared of flying :(

**Chapter 14**

     It was a long trip back to the Core and all the way to Alderaan. The couple spent much of it in comfortable quiet, punctuating their days with random conversations and long periods of cuddling together in their bunks. Tycho tried to explain some basic things about Alderaanian culture to Thrawn in the hopes of making their trip go smoother. But there was one subject he didn’t bring up until the very last minute. Finally, with only an hour left in their flight before they would arrive in the Alderaan system, Tycho asked Thrawn to join him in the cockpit so they could talk.

 

     “Is everything alright?” Thrawn asked as he appeared, smoothing his uniform jacket before sitting down in the copilot’s seat.

 

     “Yeah, it’s fine,” Tycho said. “We’ll be there in an hour or so, right on schedule. But I wanted to talk to you about something before we land.”

 

     “Oh?” Thrawn asked, tilting his head in a gesture Tycho had come to understand indicated polite and non-threatening curiosity.

 

      Tycho nodded. “It’s my family. Look...they’re nice, well-meaning people. But...well, they’re kind of Imperial Light. Like, they don’t have anything against non-humans, per se, but they’ve also never spent much time with or around non-humans, especially not very human-like, sentient, very intelligent ones, and I can’t even imagine how they would react to one of their children dating one because the issue has never come up. Until now we’ve all either not dated or exclusively dated other Alderaanians, and I think my parents would prefer for all of us to marry nice Alderaanians and settle down on Alderaan to raise nice Alderaanian children, who will marry nice Alderaanians and settle down on Alderaan...you get the picture. And we’ve talked about it before. Anyway, I know you met them once and it turned out okay, but…”

 

     Thrawn was smiling, an amused little grin that grew as Tycho talked. “It all sounds very Chiss to me,” he said. “Trust me, Thrass and I had some heated discussions about this while we were there. He didn’t come around to the idea of you right away, you know.”

 

     “The big difference being that his Cheunh is way too fast and formal for me to catch so I was pretty oblivious the whole time,” Tycho said. “But you speak Basic fluently, damn near to native level, and my family is bound to ask you some stupid questions or say offensive things around you and they won’t even know they’re doing it because to them, they’re just talking and saying what ‘everyone knows.’ So please, try not to hate them. You don’t have to like them or love them or even respect them, just...try not to hate them.”

 

     “I’m sure I can manage at least that much,” Thrawn replied. “You didn’t even have to ask me, you know. They’re your family, of course I’m going to treat them with respect.”

 

     Tycho nodded. “I just didn’t want you to be caught off-guard,” he said.

 

     Just about an hour later, they made a smooth landing at the main air field in the capital city, gathered their luggage, and went out to the arrivals area. Tycho’s father was there waiting for them with the family landspeeder, and he greeted Thrawn with a hearty handshake. “Good to see you again,” he said. “And glad the circumstances are better.”

 

     “Indeed, our last meeting did have a bit of a cloud hanging over it,” Thrawn answered as Tycho tossed their luggage into the landspeeder. “I understand we are here for a holiday?”

 

     “Life Day,” Tycho’s father said. “It’s in three days. We haven’t even finished decorating yet, you two can help us.” He paused, then looked back at Thrawn. “Your people don’t celebrate Life Day?”

 

     “I’m quite certain my people have no idea this holiday even exists,” the Chiss said as he settled into his seat in the landspeeder. “We have our own holidays. The New Year will be soon and is quite spectacular. It’s a pity we couldn’t stay long enough for Tycho to see the festivities.”

 

     “Ah, that’s right, you went to see _his_ people first,” the elder Celchu said, directing his statement to Tycho. “How was it?”

 

     “Wonderful,” Tycho said quite honestly, settling in beside Thrawn. “I found them to be quite hospitable and cultured.”

 

     “Huh,” his father said, finally waving to their driver to take them home. “I’ll be. Never thought a culture like that would exist in the Unknown Regions.”

 

     Tycho and Thrawn exchanged a quick glance, but true to his word, Thrawn didn’t say anything. Maybe if the topic came up again he would correct the elder Celchu’s naming of Chiss space, but for now, he saw no point in causing a stir.

 

     The Celchu family home was on the outskirts of the city, in its own little walled-off compound filled with formal gardens. Since it was the middle of winter, many of the plants were dead, but a thin layer of snow made everything look pretty anyway. “Bet the snow makes you feel right at home,” Tycho teased.

 

    “Oh yes, very similar to my ice-bound planet,” Thrawn replied, and the two laughed as they retrieved their luggage and made for the front door. Someone had clearly been watching for them, because as they moved up the path the front doors opened and Skoloc came scrambling out to help them with their bags. A servant appeared as well, pulling a small hovercart, and he took the luggage and disappeared into the house with it. Skoloc, for his part, lead Tycho and Thrawn to the main living room, where Tycho’s mother was busily preparing to serve hot drinks. The moment the men arrived, she bustled over to hug and kiss Tycho and his father, and at the last minute decided to give Thrawn a hug and kiss on the cheek as well. Tycho tensed, knowing that the Chiss culture held such gestures to be quite intimate, but Thrawn just looked amused by the whole situation. Tycho’s mother ordered them to sit down and began passing out mugs of hot mulled Alderaanian wine for everyone except Skoloc, who was still too young to drink legally and got some hot mulled cider instead.

 

     “Do you have anything like this where you come from?” Mrs. Celchu asked, indicating her mug.

 

     “Of course,” Thrawn replied. “Hot beverages are a specialty of my home planet, seeing as it is ice-bound and thus cold all the time.”

 

     “However do you survive there?” she asked, gasping a little. “...is that why you’re so blue, dear?”

 

     Tycho nearly choked on his drink. Thrawn, however, had to fight a laugh. “Our cities are under the ice,” he said. “As for my skin tone, scientists believe that we diverged from humans several thousand years ago and that our skin color comes from minerals in the ice. A cold Chiss tends to turn white, grey, or black, depending on the severity of exposure.”

 

     “So these underground cities, where do they get their heat from? You must be too deep for sunlight,” Tycho’s father said.

 

     “Hot springs,” Thrawn replies. “We make excellent use of them for both practical and recreational uses.”

 

     “Are there a lot of you?” Tycho’s sister Mia asked. She was sitting across the room, as far from Thrawn as she could get without seeming rude, and was clutching her mug as though afraid he might try to steal it.

 

     “Approximately five trillion at last count,” Thrawn said.

 

     Mr. Celchu looked terribly alarmed. “All on one planet?”

 

     “Of course not. We have many colony worlds. Csilla is out capital, and the place our people originated, but it is only one planet.”

 

     “Fascinating,” Tycho’s father murmured.

 

     “You know, dears,” his mother said, “the two of you really should take the chance to settle into your rooms. Dinner will be ready soon but maybe you want to wear something more comfortable?” she gave Thrawn a particularly sympathetic look. “That uniform looks so stuffy and stiff.”

 

     Tycho bit back the reply that Thrawn was probably most comfortable in his uniform, seeing as his military service was such a huge part of his identity, but instead he said, “Yeah, sounds like a plan, Mom, where are we staying?”

 

     “Well, dear, you’re in your old room, of course, and I thought Thrawn could stay in the guest room down the hall.”

 

     _Well that sure didn’t take long. Not even home for an hour and already we get to deal with a sensitive topic._ Tycho exchanged a look with Thrawn, who just gave him a bit of a nod. The human turned back to his family and said, “Actually, we would prefer to share a room.”

 

      “The guest room has two beds, dear, though I can’t imagine why you would want to stay there when your own bed is waiting for you,” his mother said, looking and sounding terribly confused.

 

     “No, I mean...” Tycho sighed. “My room has a bed big enough for both of us, right? We can both stay there.”

 

     “Why wouldn’t you want your own bed?” his father asked. Skoloc and Pala, though, had clearly already caught on, and were nudging each other to see who would giggle first. Mia seemed as confused as her mother.

 

     “...Because we’re a couple and we’ve been sharing a bed for ages now,” Tycho finally said. “We would both be a lot more comfortable if we could keep it that way here, too.”

 

     Tycho’s father frowned and set his wine mug down, then leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees and gave Tycho and Thrawn a very serious look. “Tycho, your mother and I are very proud of you and want you to be happy.” His eyes darted to Thrawn and he added, “I’m sure your family feels the same way. But really, you’re both risking your careers over this, you know that, don’t you?”

 

     “Only if we’re caught,” Thrawn said. “And really, we both have the sense not to go public with this in places the Empire might find out.”

 

     The Celchu parents exchanged worried looks, then Mrs. Celchu shrugged. “We can’t stop them,” she said. “They’re both adults. And you know that love always finds a way, darling.”

 

     Mr. Celchu’s cheeks turned pink and he cleared his throat. Now it was Tycho’s turn to grin and nudge someone – clearly, there was a story in his parents’ past he had never heard before. Mr. Celchu either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it, and said, “Well, as long as the two of you understand the consequences and promise to be discreet while you’re under this roof. I don’t want to be woken up at all hours by your...you know.”

 

     Thrawn blushed a little. “We said we share a bed, we never said what we _do_ there.”

 

     “You’ll never even know what we do there,” Tycho said. “Promise.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     As it turned out, Tycho and Thrawn had barely had time to open their bags and select fresh clothes when they were called to dinner. They scrambled to get dressed, then scurried down to the dining room.

 

     “Not that I saw much of it, but I do like your taste in décor,” Thrawn commented on the way down the stairs. “Perhaps we should redecorate our apartment.”

 

      “We’re only going to be there for a few more months,” Tycho said. “You really want to spend the time and money to decorate now?”

 

     Thrawn shrugged. “It would make the place more homey, don’t you think?”

 

     “It would be nice, I guess,” Tycho said. “For our last few months together before this thing has to turn long-distance.”

 

     Thrawn stopped at the bottom of the stares and turned to Tycho, an intense and determined look on his face. “I’m going to be an officer,” he said, “and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure we’re on the same ship, even if it means turning into a slicer to reroute orders. There is no way I’m living apart from you for more than a few weeks.”

 

     Tycho just smiled and wrapped his arms around Thrawn’s neck, then gave him a deep but quick kiss. He still wasn’t ready for the family to catch them in the act, even if the act was as innocent as that. “And since it’s you, I doubt you’ll have any trouble getting what you want.”

 

     As they made their way to the dinning rom, Thrawn hip-bumped Tycho and said, “I’ll bet you a week’s worth of cooking duty that your brother asks me about the color of my genitals before we leave, even if it’s just a general question like ‘is everything really blue’.”

 

     Tycho laughed. “You’re on. I give it by the end of the day though,” he said.

 

     As they settled into their seats around the large Celchu family dining table, Tycho’s mother suddenly flew into a tizzy. “Oh no, I never even thought,” she said, bustling around the end of the table to come up behind Thrawn and grab him by the shoulders. “Can you even eat human food?”

 

     Tycho had to hide his face in his napkin (and if anyone asked he would have to claim a sudden sneezing attack) to keep from laughing at the look of utter disbelief on Thrawn’s face. The Chiss had been living among humans for months, had clearly not starved, and to his knowledge Mrs. Celchu was unaware that he cooked much of his own food. But that was because the cafeteria food was awful, not because he couldn’t digest it, and both Tycho and Thrawn were quite sure that Tycho had told his mother they cooked for each other. “I assure you,” he finally said when he regained his composure, “human food poses no problems for me.”

 

      “Oh, I’m so pleased,” she replied, giving his shoulders a squeeze before scurrying off to the kitchen. “I don’t even know _what_ I would feed you if we couldn’t, we don’t even have any pets in this house...”

 

    “Did she sort of just offer me pet food?” Thrawn murmured to Tycho.

 

     Tycho, for his part, had given up on pretending to have allergies and was openly rubbing his forehead. “If you want to break your promise to me, you can,” he said. “Because that was just...I don’t even _know_...”

 

     Thrawn rubbed Tycho’s leg under the table. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’ve been through worse.”

 

     “Seriously?”

 

     “I’m a non-human serving in the Empire and I’ve met the Emperor, what do you think?”

 

     “Ah yeah, good point.”

 

     Their conversation was interrupted by the rest of the family arriving, then by the household servants bringing them their dinner. It consisted of an enormous roast with some kind of pale gravy, several bowls of vegetables in various states of wholeness (Thrawn seemed particularly curious about a bright fuchsia mash in the middle of the table), a creamy soup served with thin toast, and for dessert, individuals plates bearing elaborately-arranged mountains of puddings and whipped creams on top of thick slabs of dense cake.

 

     “It’s not much,” Tycho’s father said, “but it’s got to be better than that slop they feed you at the Academy, right?”

 

     Thrawn frowned at Mr. Celchu. “How can you say it’s not much?” he asked. “There’s so much of it, so much variety, I’m sure it was expensive –“

 

     Tycho’s hand on his arm brought him to a halt, and he turned his attention to Tycho instead. “Alderaanian modesty,” Tycho explained. “We could put out a feast ten times this big and the host would still say it’s not much.”

 

     “I see,” Thrawn said. “And what is the proper response to such a comment?”

 

      Tycho pondered. “I would usually just go with ‘it looks delicious.’ Sometimes you’ll hear people say something like ‘oh, you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble just for me,’ but I think mine is safer.”

 

      “Don’t people ever say stuff like that where you’re from?” Mia asked. Once again, she was sitting as far from Thrawn as she could get.

 

     “Certainly not,” Thrawn said. He glanced at Tycho, who was just studying him with curiosity, so he continued, “A host would never draw attention to himself or herself like that. It’s just assumed that a host is going to offer guests the best they can manage, whether it’s something as simple as a glass of water or something as elaborate as a feast. It is further assumed that their offering is generous and is given out of a genuine feeling of Chiss hospitality, which demands that hosts meet their guests every need to the best of their abilities. For a host to comment on their own offering, even by saying something as seemingly self-deprecatory as ‘it’s not much,’ would be incredibly rude because saying something like that would be seen as an attempt to fish for compliments or to boast about one’s position in life. It would be crass.”

 

     “And a Chiss would react to that exactly the way you did when Dad said it?” Tycho asked.

 

     Thrawn laughed a little. “Well, no, if your father was a Chiss and we were in Chiss space, the general reaction would have been to agree with the statement in an icy manner. It’s meant to put the uppity braggart back in their place.” He grinned. “Since we’re not in Chiss space and I’m the only Chiss here I _assumed_ that wasn’t what was going on, but I miscalculated beyond that.”

 

     “I think it’s fascinating,” Pala said. She hadn’t been talking much, but the way she stared at Thrawn with eyes the size of dinner plates betrayed her interest. “So it’s like, really bad to brag if you’re a Chiss?”

 

     Thrawn held his plate while Tycho filled it as he considered his answer. “Well...I mean...I get the impression that humans define bragging differently. I remember one day, before I met Tycho, I told one of my classmates that I had gotten the top score on the exam and he seemed quite put out. I learned later that that would be considered bragging. But where I come from, simply stating one’s own accomplishments like that isn’t bragging, it’s just telling the truth. Bragging would be something like...I don’t know...”

 

     “I noticed your brother liked to throw his money around but he never really _talked_ about it,” Tycho said. “He just kind of _did_ it. And you said something about how he liked to show you off but I don’t ever remember seeing him do anything like we would do here, like taking you over to someone and introducing you as his little brother Thrawn, who was about to graduate from the Imperial academy and boy was he ever proud of you.”

 

     “Of course not, because that _would_ be bragging. It would be like Thrass taking credit for what I had done.”

 

     Pala shook her head. “It seems super complicated.”

 

     “Not to a Chiss,” Thrawn said. “I’m sure your culture seems easy and logical to you, but then

look – someone like me shows up and can’t even get through the first five minutes of a meal without making a mistake. I’m sure it would be just as difficult for you in Chiss space.”

 

     The others just kind of nodded in polite agreement, but Pala seemed to be really considering what Thrawn had said. Finally, Tycho’s father cleared his throat and said, “So Thrawn, how many languages do you speak?”

 

     It struck Thrawn as an odd question, but he held up his hands to count off on his fingers anyway. “Well, Basic, of course. My native language, Cheunh, which I have been trying to teach Tycho, but it’s difficult because Chiss and human vocal tracts aren’t the same. Minnisiat and Sy Bisti, both are common trade language outside of the Core. I also speak Yashuvhuan fluently. I can get along in Li’irina and Rysharanese, which are both language of the outer rim I doubt you have ever heard of but with are quite common as trade languages. And since coming here, I have begun learning Huttese, Bothese, and Corellian.”

 

     The entire family just stared at him. “That’s ten languages,” Tycho said.

 

     “Yes, but only four fluently,” Thrawn replied.

 

    Tycho just shook his head a little. “How do you have room in your head for anything else?”

 

     “I have a good mind,” Thrawn teased.

 

    Skoloc waved a hand to get attention. “Chiss and humans have different vocal tracts?”

 

    “Yes,” Thrawn said.

 

    “So is everything else compatible or not?”

 

     _Here we go..._ Thrawn thought. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said out loud.

 

     “You know...” Skoloc said, grinning cheekily. “Where it counts.”

 

     “I still have no idea what you’re talking about,” Thrawn said in a desperate attempt to deflect the line of questioning.

 

     “Well...is everything _really_ blue?” Skoloc asked. “I mean like, _everything_?”

 

     “Skoloc Celchu, this is a family dinner,” his mother scolded. She had finally caught on to what Skoloc was asking. “Such a rude question to ask our guest.”

 

     Skoloc sulked, and Thrawn and Tycho silently high-fived each other under the table. When they got back to the Academy, Thrawn would be cooking for a week.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned! Thank you all for your patience. Travel takes it out me (and my schedule is still a little screwy...). Hopefully I can upload more regularly for the next few days at least.

**Chapter 15**

     After dinner, they retired to Tycho’s father’s drawing room, except for Skoloc. Because of his line of questioning, he got sent off to the kitchen to help clean up after dinner. The others gathered around a cheerful and warm artificial fireplace and Tycho’s father broke out a bottle of the finest Abrax cognac for the adults.

 

     “Do you play dejarik?” he asked Thrawn as he handed over a glass of the potent beverage.

 

     “I... can’t say that I do,” Thrawn replied.

 

     “You haven’t learned at the Academy?” Tycho asked. “All of the officers are wild about it.”

 

     “Yes, well, they aren’t as wild about me,” Thrawn replied. “I suppose I’ve just never had the opportunity to learn.”

 

     Mr. Celchu settled himself at the dejarik board he always kept ready and motioned for Thrawn to come join him. “Come on then, I’ll teach you,” he said. “Always wanted to match wits with a real officer.”

 

      The first few rounds of the game were probably disappointing to Mr. Celchu. He beat Thrawn easily in the first three games, though each time it took him a little longer. Then at one point he got up to get a new drink, and Tycho noticed Thrawn’s eyes darting around the drawing room. “You okay?” he murmured, going over to sit beside Thrawn.

 

      Thrawn nodded. “Oh yes. ...Your father decorated this room himself, yes?”

 

     Tycho nodded to. “It’s kind of his personal space,” he said.

 

     “I see,” Thrawn replied. He accepted a refill offer from Mr. Celchu, and then the two went back to playing their game.

 

      Round Four took half an hour, and Thrawn just barely beat him. In Round Five, it took him just over fifteen minutes to beat Mr. Celchu. Round six lasted barely five minutes. And finally, at the end of that, Mr. Celchu gave up.

 

      “You let me win the first three, didn’t you?” he said, clapping Thrawn on the shoulder in delight.

 

     “Of course not,” Thrawn replied. “I merely needed some time to understand the game and your personal tactical choices. Once I understood those, the game was much easier.”

 

     Mr. Celchu just laughed and settled back in his chair. “Well, I’ve never seen someone catch on to dejarik so fast.”

 

     Thrawn just smiled a little. “I do enjoy tactics,” he replied. “And art. You have some very interesting pieces here.”

 

     Tycho nearly fell asleep in his seat after that, since the rest of the evening was taken up with Thrawn and his father discussing the various artworks in Mr. Celchu’s drawing room. Tycho didn’t mind, though. He was happy to see that Thrawn and his family were getting along despite the occasional awkward moment or unintentional rudeness. Thrawn in particular was incredibly patient with them.

 

     It just made Tycho adore him that much more.

 

     Finally, Thrawn and Mr. Celchu tired of their conversation, and everyone decided to head to bed for the night. Tycho kept an eye on Skoloc to make sure he really went to bed in his own room, then followed Thrawn up the stairs to the room they would be sharing. He barely had the door closed before Thrawn was stripping out of his shirt and stretching.

 

     “I should take a shower before bed,” Thrawn said.

 

     “I should too,” Tycho replied, and he sighed. “But it just feels like so much effort.”

 

      Thrawn grinned a little. “We could together,” he said. “It would save time.”

 

     Tycho blinked at him. “Yeah, it would...” He considered the option for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll get the towels. You get the shower turned on.”

 

     Thrawn nodded and headed for the bathroom attached to Tycho’s room, while Tycho went to poke in his linen closet for some towels. When he finally made his way to the bathroom, he found a naked Thrawn staring up at the complex shower system. “Having some trouble?” he asked.

 

     “...Tycho, I have flown capital ships _by myself_ that were less complex than this shower,” Thrawn replied.

 

     “Now that I would like to see,” Tycho teased. He stripped out of his own clothes and dropped them in the laundry hamper by the door before stepping over to fiddle with the shower controls. To be fair, it was a complex system. The shower itself was about the size of a walk-in closet, with a ledge running around the outside in case the person using it wanted to sit down. Thick glass doors sealed it off from the rest of the bathroom. One massive shower head hung from the ceiling, and various other nozzles (well-hidden in the elegantly tiled walls so they weren’t obvious) sprayed water from various other angles. They were also designed to release steam in the event that the shower’s owner wanted to use the shower as a steam room or sauna instead of as a shower. Along one wall, a series of nozzles designed to look as elegant and unobtrusive as possible dispensed all the soaps and shampoos and lotions they could possibly need. It was all very lovely and well-organized, but Thrawn did have a point – the control panel that ran the thing, positioned on the wall just outside the door, was a complicated mess. Tycho poked the appropriate buttons, then reached into the shower to twist a nob (why there was a nob he had no idea), and the shower worked. “There we go,” he said. “Turn the nob if it’s too hot or whatever. Left is hotter, right is colder.”

 

     “Aren’t you coming?” Thrawn asked.

 

     “I am, I’m just telling you how to run it,” Tycho said, and laughed. He set their towels down someplace easy to reach, and followed Thrawn into the shower.

 

     The first few minutes of the shower were taken up with Thrawn testing out all of the soaps and shampoos, trying to find ones he liked, while Tycho just watched and chuckled the whole time. “You are so damn picky,” he teased.

 

     “Hey, I like paying attention to details,” Thrawn said. “I don’t hear you complaining about my looks, anyway.”

 

      Tycho hugged him from behind, resting his cheek against Thrawn’s shoulder. “I have nothing at all to complain about,” he replied, and gently kissed the side of Thrawn’s neck.

 

     Thrawn stopped playing with the soaps and rested his hands over Tycho’s for a second, then turned to face him and wrapped his own arms around Tycho’s waist. He nuzzled Tycho’s neck for a moment, then kissed him deeply, arms tightening and pulling the Alderaanian as close as was physically possible. Tycho stood up on his toes just a bit, clinging tightly to Thrawn and returning the kiss with every ounce of passion he could muster. He barely even noticed when Thrawn’s hands moved, one going to the back of his head and the other sliding down to rest just above his rear, Thrawn’s thumb lightly stroking his lower back. He wouldn’t have noticed at all, except the feeling of Thrawn’s hand that low was enough to make him hard.

 

     His eyes snapped open and he gasped, pulling back a bit. “I...oh god, I’m sorry...”

 

     “For what?” Thrawn asked, voice low and sultry. “What is there to be sorry for?”

 

     Clearly, he knew exactly what Tycho meant, and the human gulped a little, cheeks going bright red. “I mean...well, we’ve never...and I just...”

 

     “You’re so nervous,” Thrawn murmured. “We don’t have to do anything, you know. Though I was rather enjoying kissing you.”

 

      Tycho nodded a bit and considered his options. Well, if Thrawn didn’t mind...”I don’t know about you,” he finally said, “but I’ve never been with a man so there are some things I’m just...not ready for. But there’s a lot of ground to cover between those things and where we are now.” He slid one hand over Thrawn’s shoulder and down his chest, slowly, taking in how every inch of the smooth blue skin beneath his hand felt as though trying to memorize it forever. His hand ghosted over Thrawn’s stomach and side, and eventually came to rest on his hip. At that point, he raised his head to look up at Thrawn, blue eyes meeting glowing red ones, and he bit his lip a little.

 

      Thrawn clearly understood his intention and nodded, then pulled Tycho to the ledge along the wall so they could both sit. Tycho was grateful – his mind felt a big foggy, and he just knew that if they had continued on without sitting that one or both of them would have wound up in a heap on the shower floor. Good thing one of them was still thinking straight, for the time being at least.

 

     Tycho leaned against the other, resting his head on Thrawn’s shoulder and closing his eyes. He took a few deep breaths to relax, though he still jumped a little when Thrawn’s hand came to rest on his hip. Thrawn chuckled and kissed his forehead. “Are you sure you’re comfortable?” the Chiss whispered.

 

      “Yes,” Tycho replied just as quietly. “Isn’t it normal to be a little nervous though? I mean, this kind of thing changes a lot...”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “It’s alright. I understand.” He kissed Tycho again, waiting until the other was relaxed again before doing anything else. Then, once Tycho’s nerves were more even, he slowly slid his hand from Tycho’s hip to close around his length.

 

      Tycho gasped and arched his back a little at Thrawn’s touch. His hand was gentle and warm, and as he began to work, Tycho decided he was also quite skilled. There was a short period of experimentation as Thrawn tried various things and watched how Tycho reacted, but then he settled into a steady pattern of touches and rhythms that left Tycho gasping for breath within minutes.

 

      Somehow, a little voice in Tycho’s head prompted him to reciprocate, and he moved a shaky hand to grasp Thrawn in return. The Chiss’s breath caught in his throat as Tycho touched him, and he rested his forehead gently on Tycho’s, murmuring soft encouragement to him in Cheunh. Tycho nearly melted at that. He loved listening to Thrawn talk as it was, but something about this was particularly sensual and soothing. At first, he tried to copy what Thrawn was doing to him, but after a few minutes he developed his own techniques. He was pleased when Thrawn’s cool composure finally started breaking down and the Chiss moaned softly at his touch.

 

     Tycho finally opened his eyes and looked down, watching Thrawn’s hand on him. The sight of it was almost too much for him, and he let out a sharp gasp, then tilted his head back to nip gently a Thrawn’s jaw. “I’m close,” he whispered to the other. Thrawn just nodded, his own breathing ragged and his eyes half-shut. It seemed that he, too, was close.

 

     Within moments, Tycho let out a soft cry and arched his back as he came, thrusting into Thrawn’s hand a few times. The Chiss didn’t stop working until he was sure Tycho was spent, and then he rested his hand on Tycho’s side as they kissed. For a moment, Tycho didn’t even remember anything else but the way he had felt with Thrawn’s hand on him, and it took him some time to return to his senses enough to remember what he had been doing before his orgasm. But then, he did remember, and he turned all of his attention to Thrawn. He studied his lover’s face for signs of what he preferred, and just as Thrawn had done, he adjusted his touch to Thrawn’s obvious preferences. Within a few short minutes, Thrawn too had come, letting his head fall back against the tiled wall as his entire body shuddered with pleasure.

 

     They stayed huddled together in the shower, letting the water rinse them off until the water itself started to run cool. Then they gave up on the idea of a proper shower and stumbled out into the main area of the refresher. Tycho fiddled with the controls until the shower turned off, then dried himself quickly and headed for bed, Thrawn trailing behind. The towels wound up in a pile on the floor beside Tycho’s bed, and the two snuggled down under the thick blankets, cuddling together and exchanging gentle kisses until they finally fell asleep.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn woke before Tycho the next morning and decided to go see if Tycho’s family was awake yet. As much as he enjoyed Tycho’s company, it had occurred to him that taking some time to be alone with the family might be beneficial for all of them. After all, Tycho seemed rather embarrassed by his family’s questions, which for the most part didn’t bother Thrawn as much as he thought they bothered Tycho. Where Tycho was clearly upset at his family’s lack of understanding, Thrawn could see exactly where it had come from – the Celchus were kind, well-meaning people who had lived a particular lifestyle filled with particular thoughts and beliefs about the way things were their entire lives and had never had that lifestyle challenged, let alone had ever had any reason to challenge it themselves. It was the same with the Chiss, really. For the time being, at least, Thrawn had no problem being the Celchu family’s person tutor in issues of galactic diversity.

 

     Besides, even he had noticed Pala’s reaction to the things he said and did. The parents were probably a lost cause except for the possibility of changing their thoughts on a few small things and Mia seemed even more set in her ways than they did. Thrawn didn’t know what to make of Skoloc. But in Pala he saw the opportunity for a lot of change. She was the kind of person who could learn new things and have her world shaken up, and then take the inevitable discomfort and try to do something with it rather than trying to fight it or pretend the things that made her uncomfortable didn’t exist.

 

     So Thrawn kissed Tycho’s cheek and rolled out of bed, tiptoed his way to the refresher for a proper shower, then threw on some casual clothes from Csilla and headed downstairs. Tycho’s siblings were nowhere to be found, but his mother and father were having morning caf together in a small sunroom near the back of the house, where they had a magnificent view of their own garden and of the nearest mountain range. Thrawn felt that the garden must be spectacular when in full bloom.

 

     Tycho’s father noticed him first. “Ah, Thrawn,” he said cheerfully. “Sleep well?”

 

     “I did,” Thrawn said. “Tycho must be tired, though, he’s still sleeping. He _did_ do most of the piloting for us.”

 

     “Would you like to join us for a drink, dear?” Tycho’s mother asked. “I was just about to go get a fresh pot of caf.”

 

     Thrawn hesitated for a moment, then said, “Why don’t I make us something instead? It’s from my homeworld. Tycho likes it, I think you will too.” The elder Celchus looked intrigued at the suggestion, and Mrs. Celchu directed him to the kitchen, where a servant helped him find the tea and spices he needed. Thrawn made quick work of making the thick, spice-filled, sugary tea, and eventually returned to the sunroom with a whole pot full of it plus three mugs. He set the tray down on the low table in front of the comfortable chairs in the room and poured each of them a mug, then handed one each to Mr. and Mrs. Celchu.

 

     “Where I come from, before we eat or drink anything we say _kimach’tche_ ,” he said, settling back in his seat and wrapping his hands around his own tea mug.

 

     “What does it mean?” Mrs. Celchu asked, eyes wide in awe at the odd but melodic word.

 

     “Mm....” Thrawn took a sip of his tea. “It doesn’t really mean anything anymore,” he said. “It’s just something we say. I think it comes out of old religious beliefs that have mostly died out.”

 

     “A blessing, something like that?” Mr. Celchu asked.

 

     “Yes, in the past. Like I said, it doesn’t really mean anything now.”

 

     “Goodness, I wonder if Tycho can say it,” Mrs. Celchu said.

 

     Thrawn nodded. “He can. He can say a lot of things, actually, just not very well. It’s difficult on humans because of the physical differences. But he can understand a lot.”

 

     They sipped in silence for a moment, then Tycho’s father asked, “So just how long have you two been a couple?”

 

     “Well...” Thrawn grinned. “He had to move in with me at the beginning of the year because the pilots’ barracks were destroyed in a fire. We have our own rooms in the apartment, of course, but that’s when we met. And then...it just kind of...happened. It has gotten more intense within the past few weeks though.” He had no idea how they would react to the details of the story, so he decided that it was best to be a bit vague.

 

     “So were you together when he was injured?”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “To a point. We had decided to see if a relationship would work because it was something we were both interested in.”

 

     “Tycho does talk about you all the time,” his mother said.

 

     Thrawn smiled a little. “You really should be proud of him. He taught me a lot just by being around.”

 

     “But do you really think it could work long-term?” Mr. Celchu asked, looking terribly serious as he did. “I mean, he’s human and you’re not...”

 

     “Imperial politics does make the idea of maintaining a relationship difficult,” Thrawn replied. “It is entirely possible that the day will come when we decide it’s too difficult and decide to break up. But somehow, I don’t think that’s what you’re asking.” He fixed the human man with an intense, soul-searing gaze, and Mr. Celchu shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I think that without political interference, our relationship would be no more difficult than that between two humans from different cultures. That _is_ the biggest difference between us, and so far we have made it work. At any given time, countless couples throughout the galaxy are making similar arrangements work. I fail to see why Tycho and I should be any different, if our relationship lasts that long.”

 

     “That’s all well and good, but if it does end, won’t you be hurt? I don’t want to see either of you hurt,” Mr. Celchu said. He seemed to think this was a good, argument-ending point.

 

     “Of course it will hurt,” Thrawn said. “You’re not wrong to be concerned about that, it’s a perfectly normal worry. But it would hurt too if Tycho was seeing an Alderaanian woman and they broke up, and if I was seeing a Chiss and our relationship ended. The pain isn’t made worse by us being different. The pain depends on the relationship that came before – how long it was and how much we had both invested in it and the way the breakup happens.”

 

     “Tycho said the same thing when we didn’t want him to become a pilot,” Mrs. Celchu said.

 

     Thrawn nodded. “His work is very dangerous. But he has accepted the risks and from the sounds of it, even if you haven’t accepted the risks, you _have_ accepted his right as an intelligent adult to make his own decisions regarding his willingness to enter a risky profession.”

 

      The Celchus exchanged a look, and Mrs. Celchu drummed her perfectly-manicured nails on the side of her mug. “He has a point, darling,” she said to her husband.

 

     Mr. Celchu rubbed his temples a little, then looked back at Thrawn. “They did tell me Tycho is alive because of you,” he said. “I still wish Tycho would choose someone...easier. But if you two understand what you’re getting into...”

 

     Thrawn tilted his head a little. “Do any people entering a relationship _really_ know what they’re getting into?” he asked.

 

     Mr. Celchu laughed. “To have a mind like yours. I know people who would kill for half the brain power you have. Alright, fine, you have my blessing. Not that I think you were seeking it, I’m quite sure you two would have gone on doing whatever you wanted with or without it.”

 

     “You should meet my brother sometime,” Thrawn said. “You two would have much to talk about even without leaving the topic of difficult, headstrong relatives.”

 

     They all looked up as Tycho made an appearance, rubbing his head a little and still looking half asleep. He had thrown on some sweat pants and a loose sweater before coming down. “So this is where the party is,” he teased. “Having a good time?”

 

     “Nothing like an early-morning mind workout to wake you up,” his father replied.

 

     “Tycho, dear, we’re going to decorate for Life Day today,” his mother said. “Perhaps you and Thrawn would like to work on the trees?”

 

     “Sounds like a plan,” Tycho said. Thrawn just looked confused, so he added, “It’s fun. I’ll explain it while we’re doing it.”

 

     “Oh, and son, it’s our turn to host the big company gala this year. It’s tonight,” Mr. Celchu said. “I tried to get someone else to take over but nobody else could.”

 

     “It’s fine,” Tycho said. “We’ll have fun.” He grinned down at Thrawn. “I’ll have to teach you the Alderaanian waltz.” His parents didn’t seem too pleased with the idea, but Tycho ignored their reaction. This was Alderaan, and if he wanted to dance with his boyfriend, he was going to.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

     “You look stunning.”

 

     Tycho looked up from adjusting his dress uniform jacket and grinned at Thrawn. “So do you. I think you wear the uniform better than I do.”

 

     “You’re more comfortable in a flight suit,” Thrawn said. “A pity, the formal dress uniform suits you so well.”

 

     Tycho kissed Thrawn’s chin. “Not to mention my father would kill me if I showed up to a party like this in my _flight suit_. It’s not exactly party wear.”

 

     “Explain to me again how the party goes?”

 

     “Well, when we get downstairs, we’ll have to mingle with the guests. And there will be dancing. People might ask you, you have the right to say no if you don’t want to, or you can dance with them and I won’t be angry. And there’s music, a live orchestra, of course, and lots of food and drinks being carried around and served from the buffet. No formal sit-down dinner, though.”

 

     “I see,” Thrawn said. “Not as stuffy as Chiss parties.”

 

     “Thrawn, I respect your people greatly, but I doubt there’s much in the galaxy anywhere near as stuffy as a Chiss party.”

 

     Thrawn laughed and shook his head. “You have a point. Anyway, shall we?”

 

     Tycho looped his arm through Thrawn’s and they left his room, pausing just long enough to lock it behind them. Tycho had once learned the hard way that parties like this looked prim and proper on the outside, but that every so often two (or more) people would get just a little too excited and before you knew it a bunch of strangers would be invading any empty, unlocked but lockable room they could find for a bit of private fun. Tycho fully expected to use his room like that by the end of the night, but the people using it would be him and Thrawn, not random people who just happened to be attending the party.

 

     The two descended the staircase to the house’s main hall together, going slowly so they could take in the crowd and the decorations. The trees were mostly their handiwork, each one decorated in a dazzling array of silver and gold ornaments and lit with hundreds of tiny white lights. Thick garlands of evergreens, decorated with lights and ornaments to match the trees, wrapped around every bannister and railing and hung across the top of every curtain rod in the house. The curtains themselves had been switched out for white ones with heavy gold embroidery. Even the lights had been replaced with elaborate crystal chandeliers.

 

     “You really put a lot of effort into decorating for this holiday,” Thrawn said to Tycho.

 

     “Oh yeah, it’s the big annual celebration, time for people to get together who haven’t seen each other in ages, time to show off a little and go all-out in ways that just seem off the rest of the year.”

 

     Thrawn nodded a bit and studied the guests. Most of the room had been converted into dancing space, and various couples were already dancing as the small orchestra played. Gowns in various brilliant jewel tones were popular with the women this year, though Thrawn immediately noticed that the Celchu women had coordinated their outfits with the décor.

 

     The moment they made it to the main floor, Tycho dragged Thrawn over to one of the buffets to get some food. “I’m starving,” he muttered. “And the food is usually really good.”

 

     “Your mother doesn’t cook all of this, does she?” Thrawn asked.

 

     “No, but she and the servants do a lot of the baking. The other food is usually catered.”

 

     Thrawn picked up a piece of fruit speared on a small toothpick and nibbled on it. He didn’t get very far before Pala appeared at his side, tugging on his arm and begging him for a dance. She shot down his protestations that he didn’t know any Alderaanian dances by promising to teach him, and finally Thrawn had to give in and go with her. Tycho just chuckled and watched them. The first few steps of the dance were terribly awkward, but once Thrawn figured out what he was supposed to be doing it went quite smoothly.

 

     “I see your sister hit the dance partner jackpot.”

 

      Tycho turned to look at the speaker, who had come up behind him. “Nyiestra! I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

 

     Nyiestra and Tycho had grown up together and were friends throughout their childhood. As teens they had had the beginnings of a romantic relationship, but when Tycho went off to the Academy they voluntarily put their relationship on hold, with the full understanding that they could meet and date other people. They had agreed that if they were both still single after Tycho finished his first year of active duty, they would revisit the possibility of a romance. Nyiestra was just the type of girl Tycho’s parents would have preferred for him.

 

     “You know me, I never miss a good party.” She grinned at him, and they hugged quickly before going off to find a spot on one of the many padded benches that had been set up along the edges of the dance floor. “So who’s the guy dancing with your sister? I’ve never seen him around before.”

 

     “You mean the one with Pala, right?” Tycho asked. Nyiestra nodded in confirmation, and he said, “That’s Thrawn. He’s my roommate at the Academy this year.”

 

     “He’s quite handsome,” she said. “And good on the dance floor, once he learns the dance.” It was true. Several couples had stopped to watch Pala and Thrawn, who made a very attractive couple. “Maybe I should ask him to dance next.”

 

     “Go ahead,” Tycho said. “Don’t wear him out though, I want a turn or three.”

 

     Nyiestra laughed and slapped his arm playfully. “I think you’re gonna have to get in line behind all the girls, sweetheart,” she said. And indeed, by now most of a the female guests and more than a few of the male ones were eyeing Thrawn, clearly calculating their best chances of having their own few minutes with the exotic and handsome man.

 

      “Yeah, well, they can dance with him all they want, but they’re not the ones going to bed with him at the end of the night,” Tycho said dryly.

 

      Nyiestra blinked at him for a second, then a sudden look of understanding dawned on her face. “Oh my stars, the two of you?” Tycho just nodded. He felt a little nervous now. Nyiestra had known longer than most of the people in his life that Tycho liked both men and women, and she was a bit more open-minded about relationships with non-humans than many of the people he knew, but this had clearly been a bit of a surprise to her. But any fears he had about her reaction proved unfounded, because she just laughed and hugged him. “Lucky!” she said. “You get someone like that and I’m stuck here trying to decide which rich boy is least irritating.”

 

     “I’m sorry,” he told her, and he meant it. He was sure her parents were pushing her to make a good match too.

 

     “Don’t be,” she said, and whispered, “I’ve been thinking of moving to Coruscant after I finish university in a couple of years. I think there are more jobs there in my field anyway.”

 

     “Really?” he asked. “Lots of demand for historians?”

 

     She shrugged. “Well, not lots of demand, but it’s Coruscant. There are more people and more jobs just because the place is so big. And it has to be more exciting than here, right?”

 

      Tycho nodded a bit. “I suppose so.” He joined everyone else in clapping as the dance ended and grinned as Pala and Thrawn bowed to each other at the end of the dance. The moment she stepped away from him, five other women were on him, all clearly asking for dances. “How scandalous should I be?” Tycho asked Nyiestra. “I don’t think anyone who could sink my career is here tonight...”

 

     “Honey, it’s Alderaan on Life Day,” she said. “Nobody is going to care if you dance with him. Just don’t do anything stupid like get caught in a broom closet with him and you’ll be fine.”

 

      “My room is more comfortable than any broom closet anyway,” he teased, then stood and tugged on the hem of his jacket before striding across the dance floor to rescue Thrawn. The Chiss was doing his best to graciously refuse dances, but there were so many people asking him it was nearly impossible for him to get away from the crowd. Finally, Tycho grabbed his shoulder and Thrawn turned to look at him. “Shall we dance?” Tycho asked, and the women around Thrawn fell silent, staring at the pair with huge eyes and all the pent-up excitement of people for whom the next twenty Life Days would be coming early if the gorgeous alien said yes to the equally gorgeous human’s request for a dance.

 

     For his part, Thrawn just looked relieved and nodded. “Please,” he said.

 

     The next dance turned out to be an Alderaanian waltz, which pleased Tycho because he had been hoping to teach it to Thrawn. As usual, Thrawn caught on quickly, and the two managed to have a great time while ignoring the crowds watching them. “You’re good at this,” Tycho whispered to Thrawn as the dance ended.

 

     “You’re a good teacher,” Thrawn countered. “Though this one was a bit similar to the one I did with your sister...”

 

     “Pala loves dancing anyway,” Tycho said. The decided to sit, talk, and nibble on snacks for a bit instead of dancing. They hadn’t been sitting for more than thirty seconds when Pala appeared at Thrawn’s side again.

 

     “Not now, I’m afraid, I’m taking a break,” he said before she could even ask him for a dance.

 

     “Awww,” she said, and pouted a little. But almost immediately, she lit back up and said, “Hey, didn’t Tycho say you have a brother?”

 

     “I do,” Thrawn said. “Why?”

 

      “Is he single?”

 

     “Yes, but –“

 

     “Thrass is too old for you, Pala,” Tycho said firmly. “We’ll have to find you another single Chiss to date.”

 

     “Awww...” she said again, but soon was distracted by a young Alderaanian teenager coming to ask her for a dance.

 

      Thrawn just laughed a little and shook his head. “I think your parents would be most displeased if she jumped ship to date a Chiss too,” he said.

 

     “They would get over it eventually,” Tycho said,

 

     As the night wore on, they danced more, usually with each other but occasionally with others. Thrawn seemed to particularly enjoy the larger group dances, and later told Tycho that they reminded him of the more exuberant celebrations he had attended back home. Tycho had a hard time seeing how dances like those could ever happen at a Chiss party, but Thrawn assured him that there were more kinds of Chiss parties than what his brother had held for them during their brief visit.

 

     As the party moved on, people began to get up and perform, usually by singing, reciting poetry, or telling stories. Tycho’s mother and some of her friends sang a lovely Alderaanian song with a complex multi-part harmony, and his father recited a long Alderaanian folk tale. Nyiestra and a friend recited some poetry. And finally, Tycho convinced Thrawn to get up and sing something. Of course the musicians didn’t know the song he wanted to sing, so he wound up doing it a cappella. Until that point, Tycho had never heard Thrawn sing in any language, and the only Cheunh singing he had heard had been complicated operatic songs, so listening to Thrawn sing what was clearly an epic tune (it lasted for almost ten solid minutes) was a revelation. He was pleased to note that the other guests listened with rapt attention, and when Thrawn finished they exploded into applause and cheers. Thrawn bowed graciously before returning to his seat with Tycho.

 

     “I think I like it here,” he murmured while someone else got up to perform another poem. “I think your people are more open-minded than you give them credit for, and that they appreciate the arts.”

 

     Tycho nodded. “Well, you’re not wrong. The open-mindedness varies from person to person, of course. But we do love our arts. We’re a fairly peaceful culture.”

 

     “How is it that you wound up in the military, then?”

 

     Tycho shrugged. “Sometimes the only way to change something is from the inside. I value some of the things the empire has done and disagree with others. I want to change those things I disagree with.”

 

     “Such as?”

 

     “Their anti-alien policy, for starters.”

 

     Thrawn nodded and leaned against him. “Of course.”

 

     Finally, after hours of dancing and singing and talking, the party started to wind down and people started to leave. Before long, all of the guests and the extra hired workers were gone, and the Celchu family (plus Thrawn) gathered in the drawing room for a round of nightcaps before bed. Thrawn and Tycho made Thrawn’s famous tea again, much to everyone’s pleasure.

 

     “You simply must teach me the recipe before you leave, dear,” Tycho’s mother said.

 

     “I will,” Thrawn promised. “Maybe tomorrow?”

 

      “Tomorrow is holo day, dear, so we’re going to be busy,” she said.

 

     Thrawn tilted his head. “Holo day?”

 

     “Every year we have a professional family portrait taken around Life Day,” Tycho said. “I guess it’s tomorrow.”

 

     Thrawn nodded. “You’ll be busy, then,” he said. “Well, it gives me time to go shopping. I only just realized that Life Day is a gift-giving holiday.”

 

     “Whatever are you talking about, dear?” Mrs. Celchu said. “Of course you’ll be in the holo too. You can shop with Tycho later.”

 

     Thrawn stared at her, mouth open just a bit. “Wait...you want me in the holo?”

 

     “Why wouldn’t we?” Mr. Celchu asked. “You’re dating our son, aren’t you? And pretty seriously too if he was willing to get up and dance with you multiple times during the party tonight.”

 

     Tycho blushed a bit and Thrawn just looked back and forth between Tycho’s parents. “...You really...are okay with it then?”

 

     “It’s not my first choice,” Tycho’s father said. “But then, neither is him sticking himself in a shieldless metal ball, hurtling through space and being shot at by Rebels. I’ve learned to deal with that though because it makes him happy. But not nearly as happy as you make him.”

 

     “Dad...” Tycho said. “Stop it...” His entire face was bright red now.

 

     “It’s the truth and you know it, and so does half of Aldera now,” the elder Celchu replied. He shook a finger at Thrawn in mock sternness and said, “Now young man, there are so many cadets at the Academy that they don’t all graduate at the same time, so I fully expect to be getting an invitation to the officers’ graduation as well. Remember that you’ll need to ask them to hold six seats for us.”

 

     Thrawn nodded and looked away, and Tycho noticed him chewing on his lower lip. “You alright?” he asked softly, putting an arm around Thrawn’s shoulders.

 

    “Great, Dad, you made him cry,” Skoloc said.

 

     Thrawn laughed a little and shook his head. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said, reaching up and patting Tycho’s hand. “It’s just...my family is a long way away, so...it’s nice being able to borrow Tycho’s family.”

 

     Shortly after that, they all said their good nights and went their separate ways to bed. Tycho and Thrawn didn’t talk until they were back in his room, out of their uniforms, and comfortably curled up together in bed. Tycho kissed Thrawn’s nose and whispered, “You _were_ about to cry, I could tell.”

 

     Thrawn nodded and sniffed. “I barely even remember my parents. They died when I was young. And Thrass...he’s not going to come to graduation. He can’t. Sure, I’ll send him an invitation anyway, because he would want one, but...I just...never thought anyone would be there. And I feel silly making a big deal out of it anyway because I feel like going through the academy these past few months has just been a waste of time as far as education and experience goes, but then if I hadn’t done it I wouldn’t have met you and I’m just _so glad_ I had that chance...”

 

     Tycho kissed him properly and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s fine. I understand. I can’t even imagine what you must have felt like when they told you to go to the Academy. It must have been insulting. But I’m glad you did it too.”

 

     “You were _terrified_ of me those first few days, admit it.”

 

     “Yeah, well, you weren’t the friendliest housemate ever, you know,” Tycho countered. “Plus everyone else was afraid of you. I just didn’t know what to make of anything.”

 

     Thrawn sighed. “I don’t even know what to get you or your parents as presents for the holiday.”

 

     “Don’t worry about me,” Tycho said. “I know it’s going to sound ridiculously sappy, but you’re here. I don’t need anything else.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so, I totally didn't intend to have a random hiatus like that. First I was overseas, then some bad stuff happened, so uploading just slipped my mind for a while there. Anyway, here's a new chapter to enjoy :)

**Chapter 17**

 

     The Life Day festivities were fun, but both Thrawn and Tycho had to admit they were grateful when the celebrations were over. The busy holiday schedule was exhausting, and they both just wanted more time with each other and with Tycho’s family before they had to go back to the Academy.

 

     The day before Life Day was Holo Day, and since Holo Day was all about a formal family portrait, it meant that Tycho and Thrawn spent almost half of the day in their uniforms. The portrait took all morning because Mr. Celchu insisted on getting as many poses out of the family as possible before they had enough. There were holos taken inside, in their decorated grand hall and in the sun room and in front of the fireplace in Mr. Celchu’s drawing room. There were holos taken outside, at various spots in the snowy gardens surrounding the house. Then Mr. Celchu insisted on separate portraits of each of his children. He planned on using Tycho’s portrait in the graduation announcements he would send later that year. Thrawn tried to sneak away to change his clothes for afternoon shopping, but Mrs. Celchu caught him and twisted Mr. Celchu’s arm until Thrawn was ordered to sit for a series of portraits too. But the Chiss drove a hard bargain and informed them that he would sit for no portraits unless he could have some with just Tycho too. The elder Celchus agreed, and by noon they had a whole series of holographer’s samples to study and choose from. Everyone in the family (including Thrawn) was allowed to choose their favorites: two group holos, their favorite personal portrait, and in the case of Tycho and Thrawn, their favorite portrait together. Tycho chose the group holo of all of them in the grand hall, while Thrawn went for one in the drawing room. They all changed for lunch, which was more of a heavy snack than a full meal (apparently there would be a Life Day Eve feast that evening), and then Tycho dragged Thrawn into the city for shopping.

 

     “I have no idea what to get you,” Thrawn muttered as he watched the scenery go by outside the landspeeder viewports.

 

     “I have some ideas,” Tycho replied, glancing over and smirking at his passenger. “I can’t say any of them in public though.”

 

     “You’re already getting those things,” Thrawn replied. “So they don’t count.”

 

     Tycho laughed. “Well don’t worry so much about it. Call your brother and have him send me some folk music or something. That song you sang last night was amazing.”

 

     Thrawn blushed a little and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

 

     Shopping with Thrawn turned out to be an adventure, though, because aside from struggling over what to get Tycho, he had some very specific ideas about what to get Tycho’s family. By the time the couple finished their shopping and went home, Thrawn had carefully selected elegant and expensive items for all of them. Tycho’s mother would be getting a new tea service big enough to serve a dozen people, along with a selection of the fine teas and spices required for Thrawn’s Chiss tea. He had even managed to find some nice stationery to use for writing out the recipe by hand. Tycho’s father was getting a gorgeous non-holographic dejarik board made of real wood, which Thrawn found by accident in the window of an antique shop. He managed to argue the price on it down to about half of what the shop owner was selling it for, though he later confided to Tycho that he felt guilty about it as the board was actually worth more than what the person was selling it for. For Pala he found a massive holofile of formal dances from around the galaxy, which he thought she would appreciate because she had expressed an interest in learning the formal Corellian and Coruscanti dances. Skoloc would be getting an entire series of model Imperial ships to put together himself, ranging from tiny TIE fighters up to a massive scale model of a Star Destroyer, with real working hangar bays for said tiny TIEs. He was stumped on Mia for a bit, though, because she had done her best to avoid him throughout his visit. At Tycho’s suggestion, he finally settled on a small bottle of perfume Tycho knew she had been eyeing but hadn’t bought for herself because it was too expensive.

 

     “I don’t even want to know how much debt you went into for this,” Tycho commented as he helped Thrawn carry his bags of gifts and wrapping supplies into the house.

     “Well...probably not as much as you think,” Thrawn said. “I have an allowance from the government now and when I graduate I’ll make good pay, so I’m not worried. Not since it’s for your family.”

 

     Tycho grinned. “You’re all attached to them now, aren’t you?”

 

     “Well, they’re nice,” Thrawn said, nudging the door open with his foot and making a beeline for the stairs before anyone could catch him and risk ruining the surprise. “Sure they ask some awkward questions, but then, so did you when you were with my brother, so I can forgive it.”

 

     He and Thrawn were up until the early hours wrapping presents. As it turned out, Chiss had a complicated gift-giving culture, and the way Thrawn wrapped everything indicated all kinds of things, ranging from information on his own social status to information on the exact age and sex of the recipient. Tycho finished his own presents within a few minutes, and settled in to watch Thrawn.

 

     “Now I know why you needed so much damn paper,” he said. “And why you wouldn’t use ready-made bows.”

 

     “Did you really think this sort of thing would be easy in Chiss culture?” he asked as he fashioned a little fan-shaped ornament out of burgundy and gold paper. It joined a whole series of similar little fans, in various papers of burgundy and/or gold, in an elaborately-arranged pile on top of Mrs. Celchu’s gift.

 

     “I should know better by now,” Tycho agreed. “Is there anything you do that doesn’t involve pomp and ceremony of some sort?”

 

     Thrawn laughed. “Eating a normal dinner?” he suggested. “In all honesty, though, we don’t see something like this as pomp and ceremony. Pomp and ceremony is a graduation ceremony or a traditional wedding. This is just acknowledging the different social statuses of a gift giver and gift recipient.”

 

     “How do you keep track of all this stuff? I think if I had to remember it my brain would explode like a supernova.”

 

     Thrawn shrugged as he fixed the fan, tilted his head a bit to study his handiwork, and finally declared it acceptable before moving on to decorating Mia’s box. “I grew up with it. It’s like breathing, just something I do,” he said.

 

     Once he was finished, Tycho helped him cart the gifts back downstairs to the table set up for them in Mr. Celchu’s drawing room, where they would be gathering in the morning. Tycho re-arranged the table to accommodate Thrawn’s elaborate packages, then dragged him back upstairs for a bit of pre-bed fun. Eventually, they both fell fast asleep.

 

     The next morning, they woke early and went downstairs to find the rest of the family already in the drawing room, pondering Thrawn’s boxes. Mia was declaring that he clearly didn’t want them opened, seeing how much work he had put into wrapping them, and in fact she thought maybe they were just there to be seen anyway.

 

     “Maybe there’s not even anything in them,” she said.

 

     “I assure you there is something in each of them,” Thrawn said, making her squeak and jump. “Even in the one for you,” he added. Tycho just laughed and snagged a pastry off of a tray before plopping down on the couch. Thrawn followed, though he took a little more time to peruse the selection of breakfast pastries before joining Tycho. “Typical holiday breakfast?” he asked, motioning to the small mountain of pastries he had selected.

 

     “Yep,” Tycho said around a mouthful of fruity pastry. “It’s fun. And delicious. And guaranteed to keep me awake all day.”

 

     Thrawn grinned and settled in to watch the Celchus open their presents, fully expecting that his involvement in the day had pretty much ended. Mrs. Celchu just couldn’t believe the tea set, but ultimately she seemed most impressed that Thrawn had managed to find paper stationery _and_ had written the recipe out by hand. Pala nearly swooned over his handwriting.

 

      “Nobody _writes_ anything anymore, you know,” she said by way of explanation.

 

     Skoloc tried his best to seem like a cool teenager when confronted with his models, but it didn’t quite work out. Pala couldn’t resist kissing Thrawn’s cheek, which earned her a sharp look from Tycho, but she ignored it in favor of settling down in a comfy chair to study her new holofile. Mia blushed a little when she realized that not only had Thrawn gotten her a gift, but he had gotten her a _nice_ one that she actually _liked._ And of course Mr. Celchu appreciated his new antique dejarik board.

 

      “I didn’t realize dejarik used to be played on wooden boards,” he said.

 

     “Oh yes,” Thrawn said. “Holographic pieces are cheaper, though, so of course more people want them. And wood is rare these days.”

 

      “Do you have wood where you come from, dear?” Mrs. Celchu asked, pausing from examining the teas Thrawn had selected.

 

     “Not on Csilla, it’s too icy,” he said. “Any wooden fixtures are made from imported materials.”

 

     He waited until the others were occupied with their things, then handed Tycho a thin datacard. “It’s not a lot,” he said, “but it’s what you asked for.”

 

     “Seriously, you got Thrass to send it to you that quickly?”

 

     “Goodness no, I copied it all from the files I brought when I came here.” He looked a bit sheepish. “I couldn’t just not give you something...Thrass will send proper files over later, when he gets my message.”

 

     Tycho grinned and kissed Thrawn’s cheek, then handed him a tiny wrapped box. “Glad I’m not the only one who managed to sneak something past someone then.”

 

     Thrawn just gave him a curious look, then unwrapped the box and opened it. It held a small but ornate gold pin sprinkled with deep red and blue gems. Thrawn blinked at it for a second, then looked up at Tycho and raised an eyebrow.

 

     “...Okay, it needs some explaining,” Tycho said. “I wanted you to have something from me that you could keep with you in public as a token of my affection. But a ring would be way too obvious, people would notice and talk. You don’t wear earrings or anything like that and even if you did, you couldn’t with your uniform. But this kind of thing you can get away with, at least until you graduate, and if you don’t want to wear it openly or once you graduate and can’t, you can put it under the outer layer of the uniform instead. I know lots of people at the Academy who do stuff like that. Keton has a bunch of ribbons in different colors his friends and family gave him as good luck tokens when he left home, and he sewed them all inside his flight suit. It’s not regulation, but since it’s not visible when he wears the uniform nobody cares.”

 

     “...So you’re _not_ asking me to marry you,” Thrawn said.

 

     Tycho paled a little. “Is that what it means in Chiss culture?”

 

     Thrawn laughed. “Yes. Anything extravagant like this, really, would serve that purpose.”

 

     “Well I’m not Chiss,” Tycho said, poking Thrawn’s arm. “Look, maybe we’ll get to that point someday. But for right now, this is just...something from me that isn’t obvious that you can keep on you as much as you want.”

 

     “It is beautiful. Thank you.”

 

     “Of course.” Tycho grinned and snuggled up against him.

 

      They sat in the drawing room for hours, eating pastries and passing their presents around. Finally, Mrs. Celchu got up to check on dinner. She returned a few minutes later and stood in the doorway, hands on her hips as she tried to frown at the others, but couldn’t quite manage it.

 

     “Now, there are four strong men in here and not a one has come to help me in the kitchen,” she said. “Do you have any idea how heavy a nerf roast is?”

 

      Thrawn unfolded himself from his position on the couch and went off to help her with the nerf roast. For the rest of the evening, all Tycho and the others heard from Mrs. Celchu was how helpful and wonderfully polite Thrawn was, and how the Chiss certainly knew how to raise fine young men, and maybe Alderaanians could take some lessons from them in how to raise children. Thrawn’s cheeks were purple for most of the dinner as a result.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     A few days before they were due back at the Academy, Thrawn and Tycho finally left Alderaan. The flight to the Academy would only take them a day, but they both wanted some time to settle back into their apartment and to relax with just each other before they had to get back into the daily grind of school. Tycho’s entire family accompanied them to the spaceport, where their shuttle was waiting, and they spent a while on teary goodbyes.

 

      “Now remember,” Tycho’s father said to Thrawn, “I’m expecting those graduation invitations. You have to tell them how many you want next month. Don’t forget.”

 

     “I won’t, I promise,” he said, busily patting Tycho’s mother on the back. She was patting him on the arm and sniffling.

 

     “You call me anytime you want, dear,” she said to him. “It must be so difficult on you, out here all by yourself without your family...”

 

     “Mom, he’s fine,” Tycho said, trying to pry her away before she started crying. “He knows he can call you and all that.”

 

     “We’ll send you some care packages,” his mother said, turning her attention to Tycho now. “I don’t know how you two survive on that slop they serve in the cafeterias.”

 

     Tycho looked at Thrawn over his mother’s head and chewed on his lip to keep from laughing. Thrawn just shook his head a little and turned back to Skoloc, who was busily explaining exactly where his massive Star Destroyer model was going to go when he finished it. Pala was sulking behind him – she wasn’t pleased that the handsome Chiss was going where she couldn’t bother him with questions all the time. But she got over it long enough to give Thrawn a proper hug before they parted.

 

      Finally, Tycho and Thrawn had to leave, or they were going to miss their clearance window and would be stuck waiting around for hours for another clearance. The family moved to a safe distance away and waved to them as they went through their pre-flight checks and finally took off.

 

     “Your family is nice,” Thrawn said. “The way you were talking before we landed I was expecting something...mean.”

 

      Tycho shook his head. “They’re not mean, just kind of ignorant.”

 

      “Ignorance can be fixed if the ignorant is willing to learn and if others are willing to be patient teachers,” Thrawn pointed out.

 

     “I’ve noticed,” Tycho replied, grinning at him. “Thank you for that. I mean it. They needed someone like you to shake them out of their happy little upper-class stupor.”

 

     “Pala would have come out of it on her own sooner or later,” Thrawn said.

 

     “Maybe, but not the rest of them. You really did do them a favor.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     When they landed back at the Academy, Tycho’s commander was waiting for them. Tycho went ahead of Thrawn to see what was going on while Thrawn dealt with their luggage. The pilot scurried down the boarding ramp and saluted as soon as he reached the bottom. “Sir?”

 

     “I trust you had a good holiday, Celchu,” he said. “You certainly had long enough for one.”

 

     “Yes sir,” Tycho said. _Did he really just come here to ask me about that?_

 

     “Though I daresay half of it can’t have been that pleasant. You were with _his_ people, weren’t you?” the commander asked, wrinkling his nose a little at the mere mention of Thrawn and his people.

 

     Tycho just nodded a little. “Well, I survived, sir,” he said. He didn’t dare say anything else. His family might have been converted by Thrawn’s presence in their midst, but the officers at the Academy were another matter entirely. One wrong step around them and things could get very bad for Thrawn and Tycho.

 

     “You did,” the commander said. “Anyway, son, that’s not what I’m here about. They finished a portion of the pilots’ barracks while you were away, and have started moving pilots back in. They’re moving the newbies in first. Those kids need to live together and bond, like your cohort did, but they haven’t gotten the chance because they’ve all been stuck with the officers since they got here. But they need a few senior pilot cadets in there to keep an eye on things and make sure they adjust well. I wanted to offer you one of those positions.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice conspiratorially. “It’ll get you away from that _alien_ and back with proper people.”

 

      It took every ounce of self-control he had to keep from laying the commander out on his back right then and there. As it was, he had to press his hands to his legs to keep from balling them into fists, and he gulped a bit before speaking in the hopes that his voice wouldn’t shake. “Thank you, sir,” he said, “but I’m going to graduate soon and there’s a lot to do now that I’m back from break. I think it would be more of a hassle than it’s worth to move all of my things back to the pilots’ barracks for just a few months. Why not ask Cadet Rel-Barre, I’m sure he would be good for the job.”

 

      The commander clapped Tycho’s shoulder and gave him a sad look. “I’ll give you credit, Celchu, you’re a stronger man than I. I wouldn’t have survived as long as you in this situation without doing something I would regret.”

 

     “I’m sure you would have been fine, sir,” Tycho said.

 

     “You think too highly of me,” the commander replied. “They stuck me with a Mon Cal once. At least Thrawn doesn’t stink. Or maybe he does, I’ve never been in close quarters with him.”

 

     Tycho took a deep breath and struggled to maintain his composure. Six weeks away, three of it spent among the Chiss, had done a number on his ability to tolerate this kind of talk. “Sir,” he finally said, “if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my quarters and take care of things there before preparing for classes.”

 

     “Of course, Celchu. And if you change your mind...”

 

     “I know where to find you, sir.” He snapped a salute, which the commander returned, then waited until the commander left before stalking back into the ship. Thrawn was lurking in the shadows at the top of the boarding ramp.

 

     “That seemed pleasant,” he said dryly.

 

      Tycho snorted. “Speciesist bastard,” he muttered. “I swear, Thrawn, the way he was talking about you...and it’s not even the worst I’ve heard...I don’t know if I can take much of it anymore...”

 

      “You can,” Thrawn said softly. “You can because you must. We both must. But that doesn’t mean we have to put up with it forever. Right?”

 

     Tycho managed a small smile. “Right. Anyway, let’s go back to our apartment. It’s going to be so dusty in there.”

 

     “Not if the cleaning droids came like I told them to,” Thrawn replied. Tycho gave him a curious look, and he said, “What, I didn’t want to have to clean when we got back. We have much better things to do with our time.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 

     “What’s gotten into _you_ , Celchu?”

 

     Tycho looked up from his homework at the two pilots standing over him. Keton and Jez had finally caught up with him, and they had him cornered in the library. There was no way he could get away from them now, which just made him nervous. Tycho didn’t like the feeling of being cornered like this, so far away from anyone who could help him.

 

     Since he had gotten back to campus a week ago, he had been avoiding his old friends like the plague. He was sure that news of his decision to live with Thrawn had gotten around by now, and combined with his decision to spend his entire holiday with Thrawn, that was sure to raise some suspicions. Tycho still hadn’t decided if he should tell his friends what was going on. He wasn’t even sure if he would trust them with that kind of information, and even if he did, was it worth the risk for them to know? The more people who knew, the more likely the secret of his relationship with Thrawn was to get out, after all.

 

     For the moment, he decided to stall. “What do you mean?”

 

     Jez leaned over so he was eye-level with Tycho and planted his hands on the table. “What’s this we hear about you choosing to stay in the officers’ barracks instead of coming back to the pilots’ barracks?”

 

     Tycho shrugged. “There’s not room for all of us there and I don’t feel like moving again just to be stuck with a bunch of newbies.”

 

      “You don’t have that much stuff to move,” Keton said.

 

     “We think something else is going on,” Jez added.

 

     Tycho tensed a little. So they had figured it out then. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

     Keton snorted. “I didn’t grow up on Alderaan, but I’m not an idiot. You’re living with him, willingly too since you didn’t want to move. You just spent six weeks going Force-knows-where with him for part of it and for the other part you _brought him home to meet your family_.”

 

     Jez grabbed a chair from another nearby table and sat down beside Tycho, then leaned closer to whisper. Keton leaned in too so he could hear as Jez asked, “Tycho...we just want to make sure this guy is worth the risks, okay?”

 

     “We’re pretty sure the commander is suspicious something’s up,” Keton added. “I overheard him talking with one of the people in admissions today, grilling them about what kind of family you come from.”

 

     Tycho frowned. “Well that’s just weird, and not his right anyway.”

 

     “That’s not the _point_ ,” Jez hissed, clearly feeling that Tycho was being unreasonably dense on the matter. “The point is, he’s nosing around in your private life for no apparent reason. Probably looking to find out if your family has the right connections and all that.”

 

     Keton nodded. “After all, a proper son of the Empire would never be caught dead in a relationship with an alien, unless by ‘relationship’ you mean ‘caught screwing every Twi’Lek slave girl from here to Kessel.’ But someone from a family with shaky loyalties?”

 

     “My family’s loyalty to the Empire has never been questioned,” Tycho said, though he was starting to feel nervous. Keton and Jez had figured it out, his commander was hunting for private information...

 

     “Nobody can pin anything on you right now,” Keton said. “Just, you know, be careful and don’t do anything too stupid.”

 

    Tycho snorted. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on it.”

 

     “That’s the rub, isn’t it?” Jez said. “Nobody ever does.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “People are starting to talk,” Tycho said the moment he got home that night.

 

     “Good for them. Maybe soon they will invent agriculture and begin advancement towards a modern civilization such as our own,” Thrawn replied.

 

     Normally the joke would have delighted Tycho, especially since outright jokes like that were so rare from Thrawn. But right now it just made him mad. “This is serious,” he said. “People are catching on that there’s something going on between us. A human pilot has no good reason to live with an alien officer cadet.”

 

     Thrawn shrugged. “Tycho, we both knew this was a risk when we started our relationship. What do you want to do about it, break up to appease them?”

 

     Tycho sighed and flopped down on their couch. “No...but...the trouble we could get in...”

 

     Thrawn stayed in the kitchen for a few moments, then came over to Tycho with two glasses of fine Alderaanian wine. He handed one to Tycho and then sat down beside him. “So we take the approach Ar’alani and I took. Enjoy ourselves in private while maintaining a strict policy of decorum and denial in public.” He sipped his wine and pondered. “Obviously, the situations are a bit different. But I think this way of avoiding problems is still appropriate.”

 

     Tycho tucked his legs up on the couch and leaned against Thrawn. “I just hate hiding. It seems so cowardly.”

 

     “Not cowardly,” Thrawn said. “We’re just doing what the situation requires of us. Until the Empire changes, or until one or both of us has a high enough rank that we can afford not to give a damn, this is what we have to deal with. We just have to decide if it’s worth it. Now, I think it is.”

 

    “As do I.” Tycho swirled his wine in his glass a little. “Then, I guess we just be careful.”

 

    “Indeed.” Thrawn kissed Tycho’s hair, then rested his cheek where he had kissed. “Who said something to you?”

 

     “Keton and Jez,” he said. “They figured it out themselves and apparently one of them overheard my commander digging around for information on my family.”

 

     “I see.” Thrawn sighed. “Politics are politics everywhere, aren’t they? Your Empire would be appalled at how similar you are to my Ascendancy.”

 

     Tycho laughed. “You should tell them sometime. But only from a safe distance so the Emperor can’t kill you.”

 

     “Oh, he wouldn’t dare,” Thrawn replied. “I’m worth more to him alive than dead.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     And so, that was how things went from then on. In public, Tycho and Thrawn never spoke of each other to anyone. If they were in the same room for some reason, they made a point of not sitting together unless it was unavoidable. If they passed each other in the hallway, they didn’t even acknowledge it. They left at different times in the morning and returned at different times at night. They even did their shopping separately, with Thrawn reverting to his pre-Tycho shopping system and Tycho being responsible for all of the on-base shopping. In some ways, he hated it. One of the things he loved the most about being with Thrawn was how comfortable their domestic relationship had been, with both of them participating equally in things like shopping and cooking. He missed the days of shopping with Thrawn, even though they still had plenty to do together at home.

 

     At home. Well, that was a different matter entirely. These days, Tycho was often the last one home in the evening, and it wasn’t unusual for him to return home to find that Thrawn had already cooked. They were always careful to wait until the door had closed and locked behind Tycho before so much as saying hello, and more often than not they greeted each other with a passionate kiss that tended to turn into far more than just a kiss. They often had to reheat their dinners after their greetings turned into far more than just greetings.

 

     “Maybe we should, you know, not bother with cooking until after we’re both home and get the desire out of our systems,” Tycho suggested one evening as they lay curled up in bed, savoring the afterglow.

 

     “But where would be the fun in that?” Thrawn said. “Besides, sometimes you come home and just want dinner.”

 

     “Yeah, sometimes, like once a month maybe,” Tycho teased. They didn’t bother changing how they did things, though.

 

     One evening, Tycho came home and collapsed onto the couch before the door even closed behind him. “Ugh.”

 

     “What’s wrong?” Thrawn asked from the kitchen.

 

     “Oh, just stressed,” Tycho said, his voice muffled by the pillow he had fallen on top of.

 

     Thrawn frowned, even though Tycho couldn’t see him. “Why?”

 

     “The first round of practice sessions for our finals starts next week. It’s just...our finals aren’t for a few more months yet, but they start us practicing now because they’re so intense and demanding, and everyone is so worried about them. It’s rubbing off on me. And of course in preparation they’re giving us so much extra homework...”

 

     Thrawn nodded and turned the heat off down their stove, then went to kneel in front of the couch and rub Tycho’s back a little. “Yes, they’re giving us more reports as well,” he said.

 

     “Reports are easy for you though,” Tycho said.

 

      “They still take time and effort,” Thrawn said. “And you know I can be hard on myself about these things.”

 

      “Always a perfectionist,” Tycho agreed. “Not that that’s always a bad thing, you know.”

 

     Thrawn just smirked. “Come on. Dinner isn’t finished yet anyway. Let’s go see if we can do something about that stress of yours.”

 

      Tycho agreed and rolled off the couch, following Thrawn into his bedroom. Since Thrawn had the room with the least amount of wall space shared with other apartments, they had decided that his room was the best one for them to share. Sure, the walls were supposedly soundproof, but they saw no reason to take a chance. Tycho stripped his shirt off and tossed it in the general direction of the clothing hamper in the corner by the refresher door, then crawled onto their bed and flopped face down on it. Thrawn just chuckled a little, then joined him on the bed and slowly ran a single fingertip down his spine. “How about a massage?”

 

     “Oh Force yes,” Tycho said. One of Thrawn’s hidden talents turned out to be massages, and Tycho had been taking as much advantage of that as possible lately. He pushed some pillows around until he got nice and comfortable, then nodded a bit. “Ready.”

 

     Thrawn grabbed a bottle of lotion they kept nearby just for this sort of activity, straddled Tycho’s legs, and set to work. His touch was light at first, sometimes barely even noticeable, and got stronger as he went until he was working at the knots in Tycho’s shoulders and back. “You really do get so tense,” he murmured. Tycho just groaned in agreement, and Thrawn laughed a little before leaning down to kiss along the back of his shoulders. Tycho shivered a little, turning his head a bit and opening his eyes to watch. Thrawn stopped and kissed his cheek, and at that Tycho started moving like he wanted to roll over. Thrawn quickly shifted off of Tycho’s legs and stretched out on the bed beside him so that they were facing each other once Tycho made it onto his side.

 

     The Alderaanian made use of the fact that Thrawn was still clothed to pull him closer by grabbing a handful of his shirt and tugging hard. Thrawn, of course, was more than happy to comply, and he wrapped his arms around Tycho as they kissed again. Tycho’s fingers worked at the closures on Thrawn’s clothes, and after a bit they had to part long enough for the Chiss to sit up and toss his own shirt aside before returning to Tycho’s arms. He nipped along Tycho’s jaw a bit, eliciting a few gasps from the human. He paused for a bit, taking a moment to gaze into Tycho’s eyes. He raised an eyebrow and Tycho gave a single curt nod, a signal they had agreed upon long ago to indicate that they were each in the mood for more than just kissing and cuddling. It didn’t take them long to remove their remaining clothing once they reached that agreement, and soon they were back in bed, kissing each other with all the desperation of lovers who hadn’t seen each other in ages, hands hungrily exploring each other’s bodies.

 

     Thrawn slowly shifted so he was on top of Tycho, who didn’t protest at all. In fact, he enjoyed it, and wrapped one leg around Thrawn’s hips to encourage him. The Chiss let out a soft moan and ground against him carefully. Tycho gasped a bit and tightened his grip on Thrawn, copying the other’s movements as best he could. Thrawn worked his hips in slow, sensuous thrusts against Tycho, the movements eliciting a series of happy noises from the other. Finally, though, Tycho pushed against Thrawn’s shoulders.

 

    “S-stop...” he gasped.

 

    Thrawn did as asked, though he gave Tycho a confused look. “What...”

 

     “I need you,” Tycho said, staring right up into the other’s glowing red eyes.

 

     Thrawn chuckled a little and nuzzled his cheek. “I’m right here, Tycho.”

 

     “That’s not what I mean,” Tycho said.

 

     “Then what do you –“

 

      “Inside me. I need you in me.”

 

     Thrawn stared at him, mouth open in in surprise. “...You’ve only ever had a finger before,” he

said. “I’m a lot bigger than that.”

 

     Tycho took a deep breath and nodded. “I know,” he said. “But I can take it. I’m ready. Really.”

 

     Thrawn nodded, and sat up long enough to hunt down a better lubricant than massage lotion. Within moments he had turned back to Tycho, leaning over to kiss him gently as he prepared himself. “You need to be relaxed,” he said quietly. “Let me know when...”

 

      “Yeah,” Tycho breathed, holding Thrawn close for a moment and running his fingers through his blue-black hair. “Yeah...Anytime now. Just don’t rush it.”

 

      “Of course.” He gave Tycho one more deep kiss before positioning himself and beginning to slowly push into the other, watching his face for any signs of discomfort.

 

     At first, Tycho didn’t react beyond resting his hands against Thrawn’s body. But then he gasped and let his head fall back, moaning deeply as he did. Thrawn stopped, worried that he had hurt Tycho, but the human shook his head and urged him on. “It’s okay, don’t stop,” he said. “It’s just...intense.”

 

      “For you too, hmm?” Thrawn asked. He stroked Tycho’s hair a bit. “This isn’t going to last very long.”

 

     Tycho just grinned a little. “Doesn’t have to,” he said. “We can work up to that later.”

 

     Thrawn just chuckled a little in agreement. Finally, he was completely in, and he braced himself above Tycho as he began to move, copying his slow thrusts from before.

 

     Tycho gasped and dug his fingers into Thrawn’s arms, raising his legs to wrap them around the other’s hips. “Ooh...my...” he began, but soon there was no point in him trying to talk. He let his hands drop to cover his face for a moment, then reached up to grab at the headboard. It was smooth, and he wound up grabbing a hold of the pillows instead. His moans grew louder and louder as he approached his climax. Thrawn growled deeply and dipped his head to kiss Tycho again, muffling his noises just a bit.

 

      He broke the kiss as he felt himself reaching orgasm. “Tycho,” he said, voice strained with pleasure. Tycho just nodded, then gasped, and arched his back as he came, covering his face with one of the pillows so nobody else would hear his scream of ecstasy. Thrawn had always been the quieter of the two, and he was able to muffle his own sounds simply by burying his face against Tycho’s shoulder.

 

     They just held each other for a moment, then Thrawn shifted so he was no longer in Tycho and they were lying side by side instead of one on top of the other. “Are you alright?” he asked softly.

 

     Tycho just nodded. “That...that was...”

 

     “I know,” Thrawn said, and laughed. “I’m talking about you, of course, not my own performance.

 

     Tycho nodded again, looking a little dazed. “I don’t want to get up,” he said. “I like it here. Awesome things happen in this bed.”

 

    Thrawn kissed his cheek. “Then don’t get up,” he said. “We can stay right here for at least a few more hours.

 

     “I approve of that plan,” Tycho murmured. Within moments, he had fallen asleep, Thrawn holding him protectively.

 

     Tycho would find flying, going to class, and pretty much anything else that involved sitting difficult all through the next day, but he felt that was a small price to pay for their night together.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

     Somehow, they made it to the end of their final semester without anyone discovering their relationship. Tycho seemed more pleased about that than he did about his impending graduation. Even so, when graduation week arrived, he was positively giddy with excitement. Because there were so many cadets at the academy, graduation was divided into several parts, spread over several days. The last two groups to graduate were the officers and the pilots.

     Tycho and Thrawn rose early on the morning of Thrawn’s graduation to get dressed and head for the massive stage that had been set up on the grounds. The auditorium was sometimes used as a graduation site, but only when the weather was too bad to use the outdoor stages and tents. That wouldn’t be a problem this year, though – there wasn’t even a single cloud in the sky.

     Tycho helped Thrawn adjust the various decorations on his uniform, then gave his chest a quick pat and stepped back to admire their work. “Perfect,” he said. “And no surprise, you’re graduating at the top of the class.”

     Thrawn just shook his head a little. “You know very well it could have gone either way. Two-thirds of our classmates are sorely disappointed and out several hundred credits each today.”

     Tycho just nodded and sighed. He wasn’t sure when it had started or who was responsible, but a couple of weeks before graduation it had come to his attention that the entire school was embroiled in a massive gambling scheme, the focus of which was bets about Thrawn’s position at graduation. One third of the students, mostly other officer candidates who got to see him in action on a regular basis, had been convinced he would graduate at the top of his class. Another third were convinced he would graduate, but were equally sure there was no way the powers that be would allow him to graduate anywhere near the top of the class. Clearly, that kind of honor was going to go to a human, and probably to the child of a current officer or politician who held favor with the Emperor. The final third could only agree that Thrawn would wash out, though they were all divided on why that would happen. Some believed Thrawn was too smart for his own good and that he would be failed because his instructors couldn’t understand his coursework. Others held thoughts similar to those who thought he would pass but not at the top of the class. They felt there was just no way the Empire would allow for an alien officer.

     “I’m sure some of your peers are substantially richer today too,” Tycho said.

     Before Thrawn could answer, the main comm unit in their apartment pinged and a cool female voice said, “All graduating officer candidates, report to the assembly area.”

     “That’s my cue,” Thrawn said. He leaned over and kissed Tycho’s cheek, then dashed out the door to the assembly area. Tycho dawdled around a bit more, fiddled with his own uniform a bit, then finally left the apartment and went in search of his family. They had promised that they would be present for Thrawn’s graduation as well as for Tycho’s, and they had agreed to meet Tycho in the lobby of the building he had been living in so they could all walk over to the stage area together. Tycho wouldn’t be able to sit with them. He and the other non-officer cadets who were attending had their own area to sit in. But he could at least accompany his family like a good young gentleman should.

     The Celchus were milling about in the lobby, chatting idly with some of the other families who were there for the day and trying not to feel too uncomfortable in their fancy clothes. It was going to be a hot day, from the looks of it, and like many people they were finding themselves a little over dressed. But they waved eagerly when they saw Tycho.

    “Did you guys see Thrawn?” he asked.

     “He must have slipped out while we weren’t looking, dear,” his mother said. “My, you look handsome today. I’m sure you’ll be absolutely stunning tomorrow.”

     Tycho just blushed a little. “Yes, mom,” he said. “Now come on, you guys have your tickets right?”

     They produced their tickets for his inspection, and then Tycho led them out of the building to the stage area. As he had suspected it would be, the place was packed, with people milling about and slowly entering the seating area through dozens of little checkpoints, where younger cadets who had volunteered for duty that day were checking their tickets and directing them to their seats. Sometimes they had to call on other volunteers to lead people to seats that were particularly hard to find. Tycho was too busy trying to keep his family together and moving through the crowd, and equally busy exchanging greetings with people who knew him, to notice much of what was going on around him. So it wasn’t until Pala and Skoloc spoke that he noticed the unusual guests at another check point.

      “Whoa,” Pala said, stopping dead in her tracks and almost causing Mia to trip over her. “You didn’t tell me he was gonna wear _Chiss_ clothes to graduation.”

     “Or have a hot Chiss girlfriend with him,” Skoloc said.

     “What are you talking about?” Tycho asked, frowning at them. “Thrawn is wearing his Imperial dress uniform and he doesn’t even have a girlfriend.”

     Pala pointed and said, “Well if that’s not Thrawn, who is it then?”

     Tycho looked where she pointed and gasped. “Oh, you’re _kidding._ ”

     At a checkpoint a few spaces over from the one they were headed for, two Chiss were trying to have a conversation with a very flustered-looking cadet. The woman wore robes of white and grey, her hair pulled back in an elaborate series of braids. She seemed completely exasperated with the man beside her, who was dressed in similar robes of burgundy and grey. And indeed, he looked very much like Thrawn.

     “Guys, just...here, he’ll help you find your seats,” Tycho said, directing his father and mother towards the cadet who was waiting to help them. “I have to go see if I’m going crazy of if Thrawn’s brother and commanding officer really came all this way.”

     “Can we come?” Pala squeaked. “I want to meet his brother!”

     “How do you say ‘hey babe, are you single’ in Cheunh?” Skoloc asked.

      “You can meet them later, and Skoloc, if you so much as think that in her direction I’ll be shocked if you make it through the day alive.” Tycho just shook his head at his siblings, then started working his way through the crowd towards the two Chiss and the terrified cadet.

      [I’m absolutely positive you are overthinking this and all we need to do is find the numbers on the appropriate seats,] Ar’alani was saying to Thrass as Tycho approached.

     [And I am absolutely positive that you are oversimplifying things. These seat numbers clearly indicate more than just a seat,] Thrass told her.

     [If only you had learned Basic, you might be able to ask this young man.]

     Thrass snorted, glowing eyes darting to the cadet, who squeaked a little and took a step back. [He looks about ready to make a mess in his pants. I don’t think he could help.]

     [Maybe I could,] Tycho finally said when he made it to their side. The cadet just stared at him like he had never heard anything as traumatizing as a human speaking a language other than Basic, and both Ar’alani and Thrass snapped their heads around to look at him. Even Tycho took a step back at the sight of their sharp glares. But the glares turned to smiles as they recognized Tycho.

     [Oh thank the gods for you,] Thrass said. [He doesn’t speak any language we do.]

     [And between the two of us we have about fifteen to choose from,] Ar’alani added.

     Tycho held up his hands. [Easier, please, my Cheunh isn’t so good yet,] he asked. [Need help finding your seats?]

     [We do,] Ar’alani said. [Not that he admits it,] she added, jerking her head at Thrass. He just scowled at her. [Typical stubborn Mitth,] she said. [He’s just like his brother.]

     Tycho chose to pretend that he couldn’t understand her commentary and gingerly took the tickets from Thrass’s hand. He studied the numbers, then laughed. =You’re with my family,= he said, switching to Minnisiat, which was much easier for him to speak than Cheunh. =Come on. You’ll like them. They love Thrawn.=

     =Can we see him soon?= Thrass asked as they left the poor, terrified cadet behind and followed Tycho instead.

     =Not until after the ceremony. He’s already in back lining up and it’s going to start soon anyway.=

     They made their way to another section of the seating area, where Tycho’s family was settling in. Tycho ushered the Chiss into the appropriate row, then scurried down the one in front of them so he could be in front of them and his family for introductions.

     “Guys, you’re not going to believe who came for today,” he said. “This is Thrass, Thrawn’s brother, and Ar’alani, one of his commanding officers. They don’t really speak Basic though, so you’re going to have to settle for just kind of...smiling and nodding or something.”

     Skoloc and Pala nearly fell out of their seats trying to lean forward enough to get an eyeful of the two Chiss, who gave the family stiff formal bows before sitting down. Tycho’s mother, who happened to be right beside Thrass, reached out to pat his arm. “Oh my stars, Thrawn was just _convinced_ you weren’t coming, he’ll be so _pleased_ to know his big brother came _all this way_ to see him graduate. And one of his superiors too?” She reached behind Thrass to pat Ar’alani’s shoulder. “Oh my yes, he’ll be so pleased, that poor dear. He tries not to be sad about it but it’s so very _obvious_ he misses his home and his family and I _just KNOW_ he would have given anything for you to be here, and here you are!” She punctuated her speech with various pats and shakes of Thrass’s arm. Thrass, for his part, was looking more and more murderous as she went on. By the time she finished, his eyebrow was permanently raised and twitching.

     Tycho finally reached out to stop her. “Mom. _Mom_. They’re not big on touching and they don’t speak Basic, remember?”

     “Oh, right dear,” she said, then turned to Thrass and shouted, “I’m so sorry, dear, your brother hasn’t taught us everything yet though so I’m just a little lost.”

     [Why in blazes is she shouting at me?] Thrass finally said.

     Tycho sighed and rubbed his head. [Sorry. She’s um. A little...I don’t know the word...]

     Thrass and Ar’alani consulted each other quietly for a moment, then Thrass just nodded. [Make it clear that she can’t touch me and we’ll call it even,] he said.

     [Right,] Tycho agreed. “Mom. _Mom._ No more touching the Chiss and no more shouting at them either. Dad, I’m leaving you in charge of that. I have to go to my own seat, alright?”

     “Go on, I’ll keep things quiet here,” his father said. Tycho nodded and rushed off to his seat with the other pilots.

     As Tycho expected, the ceremony was full of the usual Imperial pomp and ceremony. There was music, provided by the academy’s very own band, and more speeches than he could sit through without fidgeting. Beside him, one of the other cadets muttered that he hoped there wouldn’t be speeches like that on _their_ day, but everyone knew it was a futile wish. Finally, they began calling the cadets up, one by one, in order of their class rank. Which meant that the one person Tycho cared about was also the last one up. Surprisingly, though, he received some of the loudest cheers. Tycho laughed as he joined in. Apparently, Thrawn’s newly-wealthy classmates were pleased that their alien comrade had earned them so much money from their little wager.

     The cafeteria had been converted and decorated for use as a party location after the ceremony, and Tycho pushed his way through the crowd back to where his parents and the Chiss were. He was relieved to see that they had all survived the ceremony, though now Skoloc and Pala were both openly eyeing the Chiss in a rather inappropriate way. Tycho just sighed and shook his head. Maybe they would find some attractive cadets to obsess over instead if they went to the party. “Guys, come on,” he said. “I’ll show you were the cafeteria is.”

     His family followed along immediately, but he had to work a little harder to get Thrass and Ar’alani to follow. They just wanted to see Thrawn, and he had to convince them that the easiest way to do that would be to go to the party first. Thrawn, as the cadet with the highest rank, would be subjected to an additional ceremony at the party – the announcement of his new assignment once the graduation period was over. It was a tradition that had started years ago, when everyone spent so much time badgering the top graduates about where they were going that the graduates themselves took to standing up at the graduation party to announce it to everyone. It had since morphed into one of the officers presenting the top graduates with their orders in public.

     The made it into the cafeteria just in time. Thrawn was already making his way to the front of the room and the small stage that had been set up there. An officer Tycho didn’t recognize, but who had a distinct Corellian accent when he spoke, was already there. The moment Thrawn joined him on stage and saluted, the entire room fell silent.

     “Lieutenant,” the office said to him, “your orders are to ship out to the Star Destroyer _Accuser_ by the end of the summer.”

     The room exploded as everyone there expressed their emotions at the announcement. A small contingent of graduates seemed pleased with the assignment, and Tycho overheard some of them shouting that they were going to the _Accuser_ too. Others just applauded out of politeness, and some (also going to the _Accuser_ ) took the time to express their disapproval.

     “They’re just mad because he’s going to outrank them right from the start,” Tycho said to his father.

    “As he should, if the things you told me about his performance were at all accurate,” Mr. Celchu replied.

      Finally, the mini-ceremony was over, and Tycho made his way through the crowd to the front where Thrawn was being congratulated by some of their instructors. He respectfully hung back until the officers dispersed, then grabbed Thrawn’s hand and started dragging him through the crowd. “Come on, people want to say hi to you,” he said.

     “People? Your family?”

     “Yeah, them too,” Tycho said. Thrawn just frowned at him, confused by the cryptic answer. But his confusion didn’t last long. The Celchus and the two Chiss had retreated to the outside, leaving Pala inside to let Tycho know where they were. The moment they emerged outside of the cafeteria, though, Thrawn instantly knew what Tycho had been talking about.

     Tycho grabbed Pala out of the way as Thrawn and Thrass nearly tackled each other. “Don’t get in their way,” he said. “They’re very close and being separated like this has been rough on both of them.”

     Within minutes, the three Chiss were talking, the conversation going far too quickly for Tycho to understand. He gathered that they were talking about Thrawn’s assignment and Ar’alani made some comment about Thrawn’s Imperial uniform, and then (if the way Thrass jerked his head at the Celchu family was any indication) they moved on to discussing Tycho’s parents. Thrawn just laughed and waved Thrass’s comments away, and Tycho distinctly caught him making a series of polite comments about his mother.

     They chose not to stay at the party long after that, and instead wandered back towards their apartment Thrawn and Tycho shared. On the way, Tycho went to walk beside Thrawn and murmured, “What were you saying about my mother?”

     “Oh, you caught that?” Thrawn asked, eyes sparkling in approval as he looked at Tycho. “I thought you might miss it. Anyway, I was telling him that your mother is sweet and means well, so he should just smile and bear it. He was upset because she was touching him earlier, but let’s face it, that’s just her way of being kind.”

     Tycho laughed and nodded, and for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening he played host so Thrawn could focus on spending time with his brother and Ar’alani. They even ordered dinner out rather than cook or go anywhere. But finally, even Thrawn had to admit that they needed to call a halt to the festivities. Tycho had to be up early for graduation the next day, and Thrawn didn’t want him to lose sleep to socializing. Tycho’s family went back to their hotel off base, and Thrass and Ar’alani returned to their ship. They would be there to see Tycho graduate too, so like everyone else, they needed their rest.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho’s graduation ceremony went much the same as Thrawn’s had, though of course this time he didn’t have to worry about being the one to take care of relations between his family and the visiting Chiss (or between the Chiss and the many curious Imperials around them, for that matter). He had expected to find the entire ceremony boring and stressful, and was pleasantly surprised to note that it was actually quite relaxing. After all, he didn’t have to do anything except listen to speeches and march up to accept his commission.

     One thing that did please him immensely, though, was finding out that he too had been assigned to the _Accuser_. Though keeping up a relationship with Thrawn would be difficult on the Star Destroyer, he was sure they could manage, especially since Thrawn was going to be a real Imperial officer now and could take advantage of many perks Tycho couldn’t even dream of. It would just be a bit of a challenge.

      He caught up with Thrawn at the party in the cafeteria and gave his hand a quick squeeze. “Let’s go back to our apartment before my family and your brother and Ar’alani come,” he said quietly. “They know the way back now so they can just follow us in a bit. I want a few minutes with just you though.”

     Thrawn nodded, and they went off to ask their respective relatives to come to the apartment in a little while. Then, having extracted promises of dawdling from their guests, they rushed back home. As soon as they were in the door, Thrawn went to the kitchen to get a bottle of fine wine he had ordered from some expensive shop on Coruscant and Tycho went to strip out of his dress uniform. He looked amazing in it, but it was the most uncomfortable thing he had ever worn.

     He reappeared a few minutes later in comfortable but presentable clothes, and took the glass Thrawn offered him. He grinned and clinked it against Thrawn’s glass. “To graduating,” he said.

     “To graduating,” Thrawn repeated. They sipped their drinks, then Tycho leaned in to steal a tender kiss. They both knew better than to do too much. The Celchus, Ar’alani, and Thrass would be arriving soon, and they didn’t want to be caught in a compromising position. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy a few moments of tenderness.

      Thrawn went to sit on the couch and motioned for Tycho to join him, putting his arm around the other’s shoulders when he sat. “What do you think it’s going to be like?” he asked. “Living on a Star Destroyer, I mean.”

      Tycho shrugged. “It’s going to be different for both of us,” he said. “You know we can’t live in the same place...that would be too suspicious.”

      Thrawn nodded. “I know. But you also know I can pull some strings now...”

      Tycho elbowed him a little. “But not too many, you’re just a Lieutenant.”

      “Yes. But I won’t always be,” Thrawn replied, grinning at him.

     Tycho laughed and kissed his cheek. But as he pondered their future situation, he grew more sober. “It’s going to be stressful,” he said. “Not just because we have to be careful, but because I’m a pilot and TIE pilots don’t have the best survival rate.”

     “You’re not just a TIE pilot though, you’re a very good one.”

     “Yeah, and that’s not always enough to keep a TIE pilot alive,” he countered. “I’ve lost track of the amazing folks who graduated in the years before me, pilots as good as me, who are dead now. Some of them didn’t even make it through their first missions.”

     Thrawn just nodded and swirled the wine in his class. “I’m sure you’ll survive,” he said.

     “You have something to base that on?”

     The Chiss shook his head. “I don’t. It’s just a feeling.”

      Tycho nodded quietly and rested his head on Thrawn’s shoulder. Thrawn tightened his grip on Tycho a bit, as though that could somehow make his feeling become the truth.

     Finally, after several long minutes curled up together like that, Tycho took a deep breath and pulled away a bit. “We should get some extra chairs out of storage or something, they’re going to be here any minute and we don’t have nearly enough places for that many people to sit.” He set his wine glass on the table beside the couch and climbed to his feet, heading off to his bedroom. He had his desk chair in there, which was an option for someone to sit on, and he and Thrawn had also borrowed some extra chairs and stored them in there before the graduation ceremonies because they had been counting on Tycho’s family visiting. Thrawn got up with him, but didn’t follow.

     “Tycho.”

      The human paused and turned back to Thrawn, tilting his head a little. “Yeah?”

     “Marry me.”

     Tycho felt his mouth drop open, and he just stared at Thrawn in shock for a minute. “W-what?” he finally stammered.

      Thrawn’s face fell a bit and he seemed to lose some of his confidence, but he repeated himself anyway. “Marry me. Please. I just...so what if our life is going to be more complicated now? It’s still going to be our life together. Why not make it official? I honestly can’t think of a better way to show you how much I love you.”

      “You’re serious. You’re really asking me this. This isn’t just some weird cultural misunderstanding we’re having, or some miscommunication, you’re actually proposing marriage to me.” Tycho was clearly still trying to get this through his head.

      Thrawn nodded gravely. “I am.”

      Somehow, the simplicity of that response drove it home for Tycho, and in moments he was back across the room, throwing his arms around Thrawn, who wrapped his own arms around Tycho’s waist firmly enough to lift him right off the floor.

     “Oh my god,” Tycho said, burying his face in Thrawn’s shoulder and fighting back tears. “I just...I can’t... _Force_ I can’t believe you actually _asked_ me.”

     “...I’m a little confused, Tycho, is this is yes or something else?” Thrawn asked, patting his back a bit awkwardly.

      Tycho pulled away to look at him, sniffling and wiping at his own eyes and nose. “ _Yes_ it’s a yes, what else could it be?”

      He was hugging Thrawn again when the door to their apartment slid open and their guests came spilling in, the Celchus chattering away cheerfully while Ar’alani and Thrass gave them bemused looks. It was Thrass who first noticed something was up, and he threw and arm out to stop everyone from going any further into the room.

     “What is this?” he asked in his heavily-accented Basic. Tycho and Thrawn looked up, Thrawn’s face immediately going a bit purple. Tycho was too busy trying not to turn into a sobbing mess to do anything else.

     “My goodness, dear, what happened?” his mother said, bustling over and producing a small package of tissues from somewhere in her voluminous day dress. “Are you that overwhelmed with graduation? We’re so proud of you, you know.”

    “N-no, it’s not that, not at all,” he said, taking the tissues and dabbing at his eyes with one. He glanced over at Thrawn, who just nodded in a resigned sort of way. There would be no quiet pre-announcement engagement period for them. Not even a couple of hours. Tycho sniffled, then started laughing as he said, “Thrawn proposed and I said yes.”

      Thrawn translated for Thrass and Ar’alani, both of whom looked utterly shocked for a moment. For Thrass at least, though, that didn’t last long, and soon he was making exclamations in Cheunh about the joys of finally getting to see his brother married off. Tycho’s family took a little longer to recover from the shock, but when they did Tycho and Thrawn soon found themselves drowning in hugs and congratulations. Even Thrass consented to quick hugs from Tycho’s mother and a handshake from his father. Skoloc, meanwhile, attempted to sneak in a hug for Ar’alani, but she just sidestepped his attempt and fixed him with a cold, intimidating look, which sent him scurrying for cover.

     Everyone was so excited at the prospect of a wedding that it took Tycho a little while to pick up on the fact that Thrawn and Thrass’s discussion had turned into something of an argument. Finally, he tapped Thrawn’s arm and said, “What’s the problem? Finally found his limit regarding your relationships with humans?”

      “Oh, nothing like that,” Thrawn said. “But he wants us to have a big, formal Chiss wedding and I told him we literally decided to marry five minutes ago, so we haven’t even had time to discuss it.”

      “Well...his suggestion is kind of logical,” Tycho said. Thrawn opened his mouth to protest, and Tycho said, “No, hear me out for a second. We _could_ just have a quick civil marriage on Alderaan, but that requires at least three outside people to be legal – the justice or someone else qualified to perform marriages, and two witnesses who can’t be related to either of us. So that’s three people who could sink our careers right there. It’s even worse if we try to have a big ceremony and party. But if we do it in Chiss space, nobody here is _ever_ going to find out, your brother and Chiss friends get to be there, and we get to have a massive party if that’s what we want.”

      “It’s expensive and time-consuming, though.”

      “Who’s paying for it?” Tycho asked.

      “Thrass, of course,” Thrawn said.

      Tycho nodded. “Okay, well, look at how happy it’s making him,” he said, motioning to Thrass, who was indeed looking far more pleased than anyone else in the room. He was busily chatting to Ar’alani, the only other person who could understand him, about all the amazing things he could afford for his little brother’s wedding. “And how time-consuming is time-consuming?”

     “Well, the ceremony itself is three days, but if you add in all of the preparations and the celebration after, it goes for at least a week.”

      That did seem long to Tycho, but who was he to question Chiss practices? He just shrugged. “Alright, well, that’s not so bad. Besides, my family has never seen your home. It’ll give them a chance to really see where you’re from.”

     “It occurs to me that we could easily have a party for the two of you on Alderaan at some point,” his father added. “We’ll cast it as a graduation party before you go to your assignments. But I have to admit...I would be fascinated to know how a wedding can take a week.”

     Thrawn sighed a bit. Tycho squeezes his arm. “If you’re really against it we won’t, we’ll just find some other way.”

     “I’m not,” Thrawn said. “I just...it’s odd, letting my brother spend that much money on me.”

     “It can’t possibly be more expensive than the stuff he did last time we were there.”

     Thrawn laughed. “Oh Tycho, my love, you have _no idea_ what you’re getting into.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 

     “ _Something_ is going on that you aren’t telling me, Lieutenant Celchu.”

     Tycho turned to the speaker and raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you say that, Nyiestra?”

     “Lots of things,” the young woman replied, giving Tycho a little smirk. “But mostly the fact that you and Thrawn over there just can’t stop being all lovey-dovey anytime you’re anywhere near each other or anytime you happen to catch each other’s eye across the room.”

     As though to punctuate her statement, Thrawn just happened to look up the moment Tycho looked over at him. Their eyes met and Tycho felt his cheeks turning pink. Thrawn just smiled, a small but warm smile, before going back to the discussion he was having with Mr. Celchu and some of Mr. Celchu’s friends. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tycho said.

     Nyiestra laughed. “I’m talking about what you just did. I’m talking about how five minutes ago you were standing next to him and he had his hand on your back the whole time. I’m talking about how you two stand so close together. Oh, and I totally caught you kissing in the kitchen, but I don’t think you noticed anything. You were too busy being pushed into the wall and grinding against him for all you were worth to notice much.”

     Tycho turned bright red and spluttered a bit. “You could have _knocked_ or something!” he finally said.

     “Well yeah, but this way I got treated to a show.” She laughed and swatted his arm playfully. “But really. Something’s up and I want to know what it is.”

     Tycho grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her away from the crowd. “You already know we’re a couple, isn’t that scandalous enough for you?” he whispered.

     Nyiestra raised an eyebrow. “You mean there’s something more scandalous to know?” she asked. When Tycho didn’t reply right away, she leaned closer and added, “You know what I think? I think your father _calls_ this a graduation party, but that’s hardly all it is, and the truth of it lies somewhere in your relationship with His Blueness over there.”  

     Tycho sighed. “Nyiestra, it could be dangerous if you know—“

     “I’m open to a little danger in my life,” she said. “Tycho, we’re best friend. Do you really think I’m going to sell you out to the Empire if I know your secret?”

     “Not on purpose,” he said flatly.

    “Not ever,” she replied. “Now come on. Spill.”

     Tycho sighed again and looked around. Thrawn was still on the other side of the room, conversing with Mr. Celchu and his friends, but his eyes kept darting to Tycho and Tycho could see the tension on his face. He knew something was up. His mother was bustling around with a tray of cookies, urging the guests to try them. Pala and Skoloc were chatting with some of their friends from school, and Mia was holding court with several young men who were clearly vying for her attention. Other guests were gathered in little knots of conversation around the room, sometimes drifting apart to form or join new groups. Tycho watched as a retired Colonel joined the group with Thrawn and his father and began talking to Thrawn about something. So far, aside from Thrawn himself, nobody was paying attention to his little conversation with Nyiestra.

     He cleared his throat a little, then said, “We’re engaged. The wedding is next month.”

     Nyiestra’s eyes widened in shock and it clearly took every ounce of willpower she had not to scream in...delight? Annoyance? Tycho couldn’t really tell which. “You’re getting married and you didn’t even invite me?” she finally asked.

     “Well, we haven’t really invited anyone except my family...” Tycho said. Nyiestra just crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips. Clearly, she was unimpressed. “...I’ll talk to Thrawn and his brother, okay?”

      “He has a brother?” Nyiestra had the same look on her face Pala usually had whenever the subject of Thrass came up.

     “He does. An older brother who is paying for the whole thing, so I really think we should ask him before inviting anyone else. My understanding is that he has already invited tons of people back...er, well, it’s not home for me yet, but you’ll know what I mean if I say ‘back home,’ right?’

     Nyiestra nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I hope you’ll invite me then. It would be weird for me to _not_ be there, you know?”

     Tycho nodded. “I know. You just have to keep it really quiet.” He didn’t tell her, but there were a lot of people he wanted to invite but couldn’t. Leaving his friends and extended family out didn’t please him, of course, but he had decided it was for the best.

     “Did you really say next month?” Nyiestra asked.

     “Oh yes. Thrass has apparently been planning this thing since Thrawn came of age. I think we could have easily done it within days of graduating.”

      Nyiestra raised an eyebrow. “Thrass is his brother? He sounds a little...intense.”

     Tycho laughed. “Oh, you have _no_ idea.”

***    ***   ***

 

     Thrass had made himself scarce during the party, but after the last guest left he appeared in the drawing room as though magically drawn there. The family had barely had time to settle down and sip some Chiss tea before he launched into an explanation of Chiss weddings, which Thrawn translated.

      “Thrass wants you to understand the basic steps of a wedding before we actually go to Csilla for it next month,” Thrawn translated. “Traditional Chiss weddings are a lot more complicated than most human ones, and they take several days. The core of the wedding – the bit that humans would actually call a wedding – is three days long, with a few days of peripheral activities around it. Chiss who have modern, non-traditional weddings usually skip the peripherals and cram the other events into one day. But Thrass is determined that if we’re going to have a Chiss wedding, we’re going to do it right.”

     Tycho laughed a little. “I honestly can’t see you _or_ your brother doing anything half-assed.” Thrawn laughed too, and Tycho said, “Alright, so, what do we need to know?”

     Thrass cleared his throat and straightened up a little, clearly not pleased at the interruption and determined not to let it happen again. As he spoke, Thrawn translated. “Basically, the ceremony itself lasts for three days, with two days of peripheral activities before and one or two days after. On the very first day of everything, my family will visit you and your family to formally request the marriage, which is your last chance to change your mind. Assuming you still say yes, there’s a feast where we will get to see each other one last time before the rest of the events. On the second day, our ties with our own families are ritually broken and will stay that way until later in the ceremony. The third day starts the actual wedding, when our families meet and exchange gifts.  On the fourth day, each of us meets our future in-laws and there is another gift exchange. Day five is what pretty much anyone else would call the actual wedding and involves our marriage. The sixth day is for recreating ties with our own families, and officially creating family ties with our in-laws. The seventh day involves a celebration of us setting up a household together, but that day can be postponed until later or can be skipped entirely.”

     Tycho’s parents exchanged concerned looks. “Why so long, dear?” his mother finally asked.

     Thrawn and Thrass discussed the question for a moment, then Thrawn said, “Well, this is one of the few things we Chiss really do up big. In the past, there were a lot of religious reasons behind it. These days it’s mostly just a lot of symbolism underscoring the way social relationships change when families join because their members marry, and it’s a good excuse for a big party.”

     “There’s research out there showing that making a big deal out of the wedding ceremony like that can lead to longer-lasting marriages too. Or something like that,” Pala said.

     “Really?” Thrawn asked. “I had no idea. But it makes sense. We have equally complex customs for divorce but it’s rare among the Chiss. Not many people wind up divorced, and families tend to be very invested in helping couples through difficulties.”

     “And all of this is going to take place on your planet?” Tycho’s father asked.

     “Yes,” Thrawn said. “Unless Tycho decides he doesn’t want it there. We have other planets to choose from.”

     “Csilla is fine,” Tycho said. “We could look into that ice building you told me about.”

     Thrass tapped Thrawn’s arm to get his attention, and they conversed a bit more. Tycho caught some references to difficulties and families. Finally, Thrawn sighed and said, “There is one problem, though. Well, a few problems, but they can all be summarized as part of one bigger problem. Tycho isn’t Chiss, so he doesn’t have a Chiss family until we’re married, but that means none of you have any idea what’s expected of you, how to fulfill your obligations in the ceremonies, or really anything else that involves family connections.”

     “They can’t be taught?” Tycho asked.

     “To a point, sure, but these things are complicated.” Thrawn sighed. “Thrass suggests that we find you a sponsor, who can act as a representative for your family. Basically, anything that calls for family involvement will require your family to be present, but the sponsor will actually do the things that need to be done.”

     “Such as...?”

     “Giving and receiving gifts, any speeches, that sort of thing.”

     Tycho shrugged. “I don’t see a problem with it as long as it’s someone you trust. Does Thrass have someone in mind?”

     “Not yet. He probably won’t have anyone lined up for a while yet, either.”

     “But by the time we get there?”

     “Oh yes, I’m sure he can find a willing participant by then.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The day they all returned to Csilla to make the final preparations for the wedding (and of course to have the wedding itself) was a bit of a shock to Tycho’s family and to his one human guest, Nyiestra. Thrass had returned home shortly after the graduation/secret engagement party to finish making preparations, which left Thrawn and Tycho alone to get everyone back to Csilla and to try to prepare them all for sudden immersion into Chiss culture.

     It wasn’t terribly successful.

     “Oh my stars,” Tycho’s mother said as she looked out the forward viewport at the dozens of Chiss going about their business as Tycho landed their ship in the appointed docking area. “There are so _many_ of them!”

     “Five trillion of us, spread across numerous colony worlds,” Thrawn said. “Were you expecting something else on our capital planet?”

     “Well, no, I suppose not,” she said. “It’s just a little...overwhelming.”

     “I’m sure Thrawn felt the same way when he first came to the Empire, Mom,” Tycho said. He finished shutting their engines down and headed for their luggage in the back. Pala, Skoloc, and Nyiestra were already waiting for them by the boarding ramp, each with their share of luggage to carry. Tycho hit the button to lower the ramp on his way to find his own bag, then returned to join Thrawn in leading them all off the ship. It wasn’t until he was part-way down that he noticed the small group of beings who had come to greet them.

      “Thrass brought friends, I see,” he said to Thrawn.

      Thrawn nodded. “The only question is who they are.”

     Of course they couldn’t see until they got to the bottom of the ramp, and then Thrawn laughed. [Thrass, wherever did you dig those two up?] he asked.

     [You owe me, brother,] Thrass replied. [The lengths I had to go to to find them...I have informed Admiral Ar’alani that she should consider giving me a job planning her future missions. They can’t possibly take more effort than this little mission of mine did.]

     There, standing between Thrass and Ar’alani, were two humans. The woman was practically bouncing with glee, while the man beside her just seemed very pleased to see Thrawn. The moment Thrawn set his bag down, the woman practically launched herself at him and hugged him tightly.

     [It’s been so _long_ ,] she said. [And now you’re getting married? When did that happen?]

     [I’m so pleased to see you too, Ferasi,] he said dryly. [This happened a few months ago.]

     She finally let go of him and switched to Basic as she turned to Tycho. “You must be one of his friends here to see the wedding,” she said. “I’m Maris Fe-“

     “Ferasi, yes, I caught that part,” Tycho said. He seemed just a little sour. “And he proposed to me after our graduation from the academy a little over a month ago.”

     Maris just stared at him for a second, then laughed and shook his hand. “Oh, wow, you must think I’m an idiot,” she said.

     “I don’t know,” he said, looking at Thrawn. “Should I think she’s an idiot?”

     “Well...she never did find out about my preferences in a partner,” Thrawn replied. “It also seems that Thrass failed to tell her the details of the wedding. An honest mistake on her part.”

     “Thrass didn’t tell us much,” the man said. “Just that he needed a couple of translators to help out and we were the only people he could think of other than you and your fiancé who could speak Basic and Cheunh.”

     Thrawn grinned at him. “Well, it’s true, Jorj, I can still count the number of non-Chiss Cheunh speakers on one hand with room to spare.”

     Tycho looked at Thrawn. “These are the ones who taught you Basic?”

     He nodded. “Yes.”

     “...Well that explains why you pronounce some things like a Corellian.”

     Thrawn and his friends laughed. “He sounds more Alderaanian now,” Jorj said. “Your influence?”

     “That and the fact that we were just there all month, I guess.” Tycho shrugged. As Thrawn went back to talking with his friends, he made his way over to Ar’alani, who was watching the whole situation an odd look on her face. =A pleasure to see you again, Admiral,= Tycho said in Minnisiat. Ar’alani never seemed to appreciate it when he mangled Cheunh.

     [So many humans here now,] she said, eyes darting from Tycho to Maris and Jorj, then to the group huddled at the bottom of the boarding ramp. [You will think less of me for admitting it, I know, but I can’t help but be nervous.]

     =None of the ones here want to hurt the Chiss,= Tycho said.  

    [No,] she agreed. [But what about the next ones? There will be more someday, we both know that. We Chiss deal with so many threats already. We don’t need threats from your people too.]

     =Respectfully, Admiral, if my people ever come out here to attack you it won’t be because nine humans came here for a wedding,= Tycho said. Ar’alani just nodded a bit. =By the way...I would have thought you would be busy working,= Tycho added. =I didn’t realize Thrawn meant so much to you that you would take time off to be here just to greet him.=

     Ar’alani raised an eyebrow at him. Tycho was beginning to think the eyebrow-raise was a very Chiss gesture. [Thrass didn’t tell you?] she asked.

      =...I’m beginning to think there are many things Thrass didn’t tell many people,= he said.

      Ar’alani chuckled. [He does play the cards close to his chest. No, I’m not here because Thrawn is so important to me that I would take time off to greet him. I’m here because nobody else agreed to be your sponsor, so I took the job.]

     =You?= Tycho didn’t know if he was more shocked or worried. He decided to stick with shocked for the moment. =Thank you. It’s an honor.=

     She just nodded, then studied him in a way that made him blush a little. [You’re about my brother’s size. I think you’ll fit his old things. If not, maybe my father’s.]

      =I didn’t know you had a brother.=

     [I don’t anymore. He’s dead. But I have his formal clothing, which is good for you.] She smirked a little. [Otherwise you would be forced to cross-dress for your wedding.]

     =Let’s not do that,= Tycho said. While he had no problem with cross-dressing, it wasn’t something that had ever interested him, and it certainly wasn’t something he wanted to experiment with for his own wedding.

     Eventually, they left the docking area, Tycho’s family and Nyiestra all huddled together as they followed. They attracted quite a bit of attention on their way to their destination, which only seemed to make the Alderaanians more nervous. But by that time, Tycho was too wrapped up in thinking about upcoming events to notice. Besides, there wasn’t much he could do about it. The local Chiss would get used to the humans soon enough and would stop staring at and commenting on them, and hopefully by then his family would have gotten more comfortable as well.

     They all had dinner at Ar’alani’s’ that night, an experience Tycho found particularly fascinating because he had no idea what to expect of her home. As it turned out, she lived in a large and elegant old home she had inherited from her family, filled with equally old and elegant furniture. A pair of young, uniformed Chiss were waiting for her at the front door, which they held open for the entire party as they all entered. A few more Chiss in the same uniforms were inside, and they took the luggage and whisked it off to other rooms in the house.

      “Who are they?” Tycho asked.

      “I don’t know them personally,” Thrawn said, “but by their uniforms I would say they’re cadets. Sometimes cadets help senior officers with special events for extra merit points. They’re probably here to help her take care of you and your family over the course of the wedding.”

     Pala sidled over and tugged on Tycho’s sleeve. “So I heard you say they’re cadets. That means they’re younger than Thrawn. Can I hit on them?”

      “No,” Tycho and Thrawn said together. Pala just pouted and sulked away. Tycho knew she would probably ignore what they said, and in all honesty he was fine with his sister getting involved with a Chiss. But since he really didn’t know how well any of them would take to a human girl flirting with them, he would have been much happier if she didn’t even try. He had the sneaky suspicion that most Chiss weren’t anywhere near as patient with humans as Thrass and Ar’alani had proved to be, and even they didn’t approach Thrawn’s level of understanding.

     Once their things were settled in, the entire group sat down to dinner in the Admiral’s well-appointed formal dining room. It was the most unusual bunch Tycho had ever seen – his family and his best friend, who all looked terribly nervous (except for Pala and Skoloc). Two Corellian smugglers, who apparently spoke some Cheunh, and looked mostly at home at the table. One Chiss Admiral and one Chiss Aristocra, both clearly attempting to maintain an air of Chiss-style civility in the face of so many humans. One Chiss Commander-turned-Imperial Lieutenant and his human fiancé. Several Chiss Cadets, who clearly had no idea how to react to humans at all, though they did behave in a respectful manner. Yes, they made an odd bunch.

     As they ate, Tycho’s father finally got up the courage to ask, “So when do the festivities begin?” Jorj immediately jumped into his role as translator.

     Thrass sipped at some soup before replying. “Tomorrow, apparently,” Thrawn supplied. “Not wasting any time, I guess.”

     “Oh dear, I hope I brought enough things to wear,” Tycho’s mother fretted. “I only brought ten gowns to choose from...”

     “Mom, it’s only a seven-day ceremony,” Tycho said.

     “Well I know that, dear, but what if I spill something or one of them just isn’t appropriate?”

      Tycho shook his head and glanced over at Thrawn, who was chuckling quietly and grinning at his soup. He reached under the table to squeeze Tycho’s leg and, once everyone else was on to talking about other things, leaned over and said, “Have I told you how adorable your mother is?”

     “Well I’m glad you think so,” Tycho said. “She drives a lot of people nuts.”

     “I know,” he replied. “...it’s strange, but she kind of reminds me of my mother. She was always a bit flighty for a Chiss and always so worried about things being just so. I think she would have gotten along with your mother.”

     “Do you think your parents would have approved of this?”

     Thrawn hesitated. “Not in the least,” he finally said. “But I think they would have come around eventually. You would have won them over.”

     After dinner, Thrass and Thrawn left to go to Thrass’s house for the night. Tycho hated it. He hadn’t been separated from Thrawn for more than a few minutes in a long time, so the prospect of being away from him for days on end was painful. But as Thrawn reminded him, it was only for a short time, and they would have to get used to being apart anyway since there was no way they could live together on the _Accuser_. After Thrawn and Thrass left, Ar’alani dragged Tycho off to try on some clothes. She didn’t let him go to bed until she was satisfied he would fit into the things she offered. Tycho was unconvinced that this was going to work well, but knew better than to argue with someone as formidable as Ar’alani. Finally, though, she let him go to sleep, and he fell into a restless slumber, worried about what the morning would bring.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

 

     Just as Tycho had worried would happen, he woke up to a crisis the following morning. Someone in Ar’alani’s family had found out what she was doing, and despite the fact that she was an Admiral and therefore technically not part of the family for the time being, the Inronkini Aristocra herself had shown up to inform Ar’alani that under no circumstances was she to loan out clothing in official family colors to a _human_. Ar’alani, for her part, was furious at the intrusion, and groused to Tycho that she didn’t understand what the big deal was.

     [Yes, you would be wearing our family colors,] she said, [but what else are you supposed to wear if you don’t? You have no Chiss family yet and I’m your sponsor, it only makes sense for you to wear the colors of House Inronkini for the _one day_ you will truly need them.]

     Tycho was secretly grateful he didn’t have to wear her brother’s old clothes. They had fit well, but he thought the copper-green color looked awful on him. Unfortunately, it left him with a dilemma that threatened to postpone the entire wedding. His suggestion of just wearing his Imperial dress uniform was shot down as highly inappropriate. Tycho wondered how Thrass had managed to drop the ball so badly. Surely they could have made robes in some random, non-House color that would have been appropriate...if there had been time.

     He was about to give up and call Thrawn for ideas when suddenly, one of the cadets appeared at his bedroom door, looking a bit sheepish and dragging an enormous and ancient-looking rolling suitcase behind himself. Tycho helped him hoist it onto the bed. Once it was situated, the cadet opened it and motioned for Tycho to take a look.

     [Do any of those suit you?] he asked in slow, carefully-formed Cheunh. Apparently he had picked up on the fact that Tycho could speak and understand some of the language, and had also picked up on the fact that Tycho wasn’t yet fluent.

     Tycho tilted his head, then looked into the suitcase and started pulling robes out. Every one was made in some shade of blue, ranging from pale almost-white to blue so dark it might as well have been black. Many of the robes had multiple shades of blue mixed with grey and silver. Tycho found himself particularly fascinated by one set, which had a cape that faded from deep blue at the hem to a blue slightly lighter than his eyes at the shoulder. The cape was made of several layers of lightweight, semi-sheer fabric, shaped like large leaves or flower petals and arranged to create the color fading effect. Some of the leaves had been decorated with embroidery in silver or iridescent blues, making the whole thing shimmer whenever Tycho moved it. It was clearly an expensive piece, as were all of the other items in the suitcase. The cadet who had brought them was laying them all out one by one on the bed, smoothing each one reverently before moving on to another. He let Tycho hang on to the shimmery cape, though.

     [What are these?] Tycho asked in his less-than-perfect Cheunh, since he didn’t know if the cadet spoke anything else.

     [Family heirlooms,] he said. [Most of them are very old. They have been in my family for generations and this is the sort of event we use them for. My father used them and so did all of my older brothers. They’re mine now.]

     [And you want _me_ to use them?] Tycho asked. The cadet just smiled a little and nodded. [ _Why_?]

    He shrugged. [At this rate, they will never be used again. None of my brothers has children. I have no sisters. I cannot marry the one I love. But you have the chance and the only thing standing in the way is clothes. How stupid would it be for you to have to cancel your own wedding because the Mitth Aristocra forgot to plan on clothing for his beloved brother’s betrothed?]

     [But what if your family is mad?]

     He shrugged again. [I am not yet adopted by a ruling family. They cannot tell me what to do with my clothing. If I want to offer you my things I have the right. You do not have to accept, of course, but...you have to admit, the blue looks much better on humans than does Inronkini copper-green.]

     Tycho laughed and nodded. [Thank you, then. Are any of these appropriate for today’s events, or...?]

     The cadet pondered. [Mostly. Though if you wear that cape you seem so attached to, wear something simple under it. This would be a good option.] He selected a soft grey tunic with blue embroidery around the neckline, sleeves openings, and hems, plus a matching pair of pants in a darker shade of grey. [Your own boots will be acceptable,] he added, motioning to Tycho’s boots where he had left them by the door. [Shall I leave you to dress?]

     [Please,] Tycho said. The cadet was almost to the door when he called, [No, wait a second.] The cadet paused and blinked at him curiously. [What’s your name?] Tycho asked.

     The cadet looked surprised, as though he wasn’t used to being asked this. [Sev’ani’ryn,] he finally replied. His name lacked the rolled R that Thrawn usually used, and Tycho wondered if the R was a Thrawn thing, a Csilla thing, or a thing specific to certain names. He hope hoped he would remember to ask.

     [Sev’ani’ryn,] he repeated. [Thank you.] The cadet just grinned at him and scurried from the room to let him dress.

     When Tycho finally made an appearance in the room where the day’s events were supposed to take place, it was to find the entire household in a bit of a frenzied panic. For the Chiss, this meant that Ar’alani had a frown etched on her face and that cadets were darting every which way, trying to come up with solutions that would appease it. It appeared that Tycho’s new friend hadn’t shared his idea with the rest of the household. Tycho watched as everyone scurried around for a bit, listening to Ar’alani barking orders about calling people whose names he had never heard before, then decided to step in when he saw his mother approaching the Admiral with a look on her face that clearly said she intended to touch the other woman. Tycho was certain that any hand that touched Ar’alani at that moment would quickly be separated from its original, owner, so he cleared his throat loudly and asked, “What’s going on in here?”

      Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. Sev’ani’ryn poked his head in from whatever room he was currently working in and gave Tycho a quick once-over, followed by a curt not of approval before going back to his assigned task. Ar’alani’s eyebrow twitch and she crossed her arms over her chest as she studied Tycho.

     [Where did you get that?] she asked.

     [Someone let me borrow it,] he replied, not sure if he should name the cadet or not.

     Ar’alani’s eyebrow twitched even more. [Someone?]

     [A cadet,] Tycho said. [Why, is there something wrong with it?]

     She twitched a little more, then shook her head. [It’s perfect. Now get over here and sit down so we can get this thing moving.]

     Ar’alani directed him to a chair that looked more like a throne to Tycho than anything he had ever sat in before, but he settled into it and allowed her to poke and prod him until she was satisfied with his position, his posture, and the arrangement of his clothes around him. The rest of his family were directed to various seats surrounding his, with Jorj and Maris perched nearby to provide helpful translations as needed. Two cadets went outside to man the doors, while the others positioned themselves at various points around the room. Ar’alani disappeared for a few minutes, and when she returned she was wearing a simple white dress with a matching sheer white shrug over it. She took up a spot near Tycho as they waited, and he could tell from the look on her face that she was taking her duties as sponsor very seriously.

     [And now we wait,] she murmured to him.

     [For...?] he asked.

     [Thrawn’s family and representatives,] she said. [They should be here soon. I had one of the cadets alert them that the crisis had been resolved and that we were moving forward as scheduled.]

     [I see,] Tycho said. [I’m surprised Thrass forgot about something so important.]

     [I am not,] she replied tersely. [He will never tell Thrawn because he knows the stress it will cause, but some difficult things have been happening lately and he has had a lot to deal with even without planning this. I’m sure it just slipped his mind.]

     [So it’s not a reflection of how he feels about me?]

     She shook her head. [Certainly not. He likes you well enough. He must be mortified about forgetting something so important.]

      Before Tycho could work up a reply, he heard noises coming from outside. At first it sounded like shouting, and he wondered what new crisis had arrived on their doorstep, but as he listened more closely he realized it was in fact loud and rather exuberant singing. [Is that...]

     [That would be your future brother-in-law and whoever has come with him,] Ar’alani said.

     [I thought a Chiss wedding would be much quieter,] Tycho commented.

     She laughed. [This is one of the few times in our lives that we’re allowed to be loud and emotional like that. We tend to take advantage of it.]

     Tycho just nodded a bit and waited to see what would happen. Within a few minutes, the two cadets from the front door reappeared, leading Thrass and several Chiss Tycho didn’t know. Most of them wore the burgundies of House Mitth, but a few were dress in military uniforms instead. Jorj suddenly appeared at Tycho’s side and whispered, “According to what one of the cadets just told me, the uniformed ones are all from Thrawn’s old command. The others are relatives or trusted friends of Thrass’s.”

     “I see,” Tycho replied. “Quite the crowd he brought with him.”

     Thrass stepped forward, eyes on Tycho the whole time. Even though he was supposed to keep a serious demeanor, Tycho could see the corner of his mouth twitching as he fought a smile. Thrass paused beside an empty chair that had been set out for him and bowed deeply to Tycho and his family, then sat calmly and regarded the scene before him. Two cadets approached and offered Thrass, Tycho, Ar’alani, and Tycho’s family a selection of tea and refreshments. Tycho took some tea but waved away any food. His stomach was too full of butterflies to handle anything else for the moment.

      Thrass sipped his tea in silence for a few moments, than began to speak. Maris and Jorj murmured quiet translates for the benefit of Tycho’s family. [Normally I wouldn’t feel the need to explain myself, because a Chiss would understand exactly what we are doing here. But you and your family aren’t Chiss, and you may have forgotten the explanation I gave you earlier, so I’ll take a few moments to explain again. In the past, when arranged marriages were common, a pair of spouses didn’t always meet before their wedding day. So in the past, each was given several chances to refuse the marriage. Today only a remnant of the practice survives – this meeting between the groom’s family and the bride and her family.] He chuckled a little and said, [Of course, in the case of a marriage like this one, where both spouses are the same sex, it becomes a little complicated and we tend to make other arrangements. But in this case we decided to do it like this because Thrawn is Chiss and therefore his family, that is to say myself and those who came with me today, are in a position to initiate these proceedings more easily than you and your family are, Tycho. I hope you understand that I’m not trying to say you are a woman.]

     Tycho nodded a bit. [Of course.]

     Thrass seemed satisfied, so he continued, [This meeting was meant to be the final meeting in the process of arranging the marriage, and was a chance for one family to have the final say in whether or not the marriage would proceed. Of course there were other opportunities for both spouses and their families leading up to this meeting, but over the years they have been dropped and this particular meeting is now largely symbolic. It is assumed that by the time a couple has made it this far, their minds are made up and the wedding will be moving forward from this point on. However, asking is a formality. So here I am today, to fulfill my brotherly duty.] He handed his empty teacup to one of the cadets who had been hovering around, stood, and bowed to Tycho and his family. He maintained the posture as he said, [It would please me greatly if you would accept my younger brother Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s request to be joined to you in marriage. Do you accept?]

     Tycho felt everything around him screech to a halt as he realized that he had no idea what to say next, or how to say it. Nobody had bothered to tell him. His hands shook a little and he glanced at Ar’alani, who was watching him out of the corner of her eye, and suddenly it clicked. Of course, he wouldn’t actually be saying anything. That was the whole point of her being here. So he just gave her a brief nod, and she stood from her seat to approach Thrass. She bowed to him in return and said, [On behalf of Tycho Celchu and his family, I accept Mitth’raw’nuruodo’s offer of marriage and invite him, his family, and his representatives to join us in a celebratory feast to mark the occasion.]

     Thrass stood from his bow, then gave her a quick nod, and motioned to the crowd gathered behind him. Someone said something Tycho didn’t catch, but it seemed to be a message, as it was passed on through the crowd. After a short wait, the crowd parted to let Thrawn himself through. Tycho let out a small sigh of relief. At least he would get to see Thrawn for a little while. He was a bit jealous, though – Thrawn was dressed in what was obviously a very formal military uniform. Tycho wondered just what, exactly, had been the problem with him dressing the same way, but he stopped worrying about it when Thrawn came up to him, took his hand, and gently kissed the back of it. “Apologies,” Thrawn whispered as he leaned closer. “I don’t dare do more than that with so many people watching.”

     “Yes, it might be a little awkward if we fell into a massive make-out session in front of all these people,” Tycho whispered back. Thrawn laughed, and he and the others settled in to enjoy some refreshments and chat with each other while they waited for the feast to actually be prepared. It was an absolutely massive multi-course feast, and once they actually got to enjoy it Tycho was convinced they would have to have some intrepid cadets carry him back to his room. But that didn’t happen, and he got to spend a good portion of the evening with Thrawn, which made him relax considerably. Finally, though, he had to go off to bed because, as Ar’alani herself informed him, he had a big day ahead of him.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho sighed as he flopped into bed at the end of the second day of festivities. His newest Chiss friend, Sev’ani’ryn, was busily laying out the outfit he would be wearing the next day. The plain white shirt and pants Tycho had worn all day were in a neat little pile by the door, just waiting for the Chiss cadet to gather them up before leaving.

     [You don’t have to do that, you know,] Tycho said to him.

     Sev’ani’ryn just shrugged. [You look exhausted. I think dealing with your mother today must have been difficult for you.]

     Tycho just nodded and closed his eyes. The room lights were dim by human standards, which just made it that much easier for him to doze as he thought about the day. As it turned out, the second day of preliminary activities in a Chiss wedding included a complicated ceremony whereby the soon-to-be-married person’s ties with their family were ritually severed. He tried to remember the reasoning that had been explained to him – something about how marriage changed his relationship to his family and this was symbolic of the impending change – but he was sure he didn’t get it right. Either way, it was just as his friend had said. Dealing with his mother had been particularly difficult.

     The ceremony was a small, private ceremony, conducted in the main room of Ar’alani’s house and presided over by Ar’alani herself, who had the ability to do such things by virtue of her military rank. She had arranged for several long ribbons in various shades of blue to be brought to the house, and had told two of her cadets to help Tycho prepare by dressing him in the white garb currently piled by his door. Before the ceremony, they all gathered to allow Ar’alani to explain both the point of the ceremony and the fact that Tycho would be wearing all white until the end of the wedding because he no longer had a family affiliation, and therefore had no right to wear family colors. Up until that point, Tycho and his family did a brilliant job of keeping it together. Then Ar’alani went to each of them in turn and loosely tied a ribbon to each of their right wrists.  The other end of each ribbon went around Tycho’s right wrist, until he was literally tied to every member of his family (including Nyiestra, either because Ar’alani didn’t understand that she wasn’t a relative or because leaving her out didn’t seem like the proper thing to do). Again, so far so good, though his mother was beginning to sniffle a little. It wasn’t until Ar’alani produced an elegant knife, with a thin silver blade extending in a delicate curve from a slender black hand, that she began to fall apart. When Ar’alani severed the ribbons with a single elegant and carefully calculated swing of the blade, Tycho’s mother screamed and collapsed into her husband’s arms, sobbing loudly the whole way.

     Ar’alani was clearly not amused. She just crossed her arms over her chest and gave the sobbing human a look that said she thought such behavior was highly inappropriate and a poor reflection on the person doing it. Tycho’s father finally got his wife to calm down a little and convinced her that this was just a _ceremony_ and didn’t really _mean_ anything, but Tycho had the distinct feeling that the solemnity of the occasion had already been damaged. Ar’alani instructed him to keep his end of the ribbons, had Maris and Jorj pass on the message to Tycho’s parents, and then stalked off to oversee the preparations for the feast that was to follow. Dinner was a bit of a tense affair that night, what with Tycho’s mother sniffling the whole time and Ar’alani not even bothering to hide her disapproval.

     [At least you have an easy day tomorrow,] Sev’ani’ryn said softly, shaking Tycho out of his thoughts.

     [Oh, I do?]

     [Oh yes. Tomorrow, the families meet to exchange gifts and decorate the wedding and reception locations. You, on the other hand, have nothing to do. You can sleep in if you want.]

     Tycho nodded. [I think I will, then.]

     He drifted off at some point after that, and wasn’t even disturbed when his friend came over to pull the blankets over him so he wouldn’t get cold at night.

 

***    ***   ***

 

     “When you said the building was made of ice I thought it was going to be scary,” Mia told Tycho over pre-dinner refreshments on the third night of festivities, which Tycho understood to be the first night of actual wedding events. “But it’s really gorgeous.”

     “Well, I’m glad you think so,” Tycho said. “I’ve only seen it once and it was kind of late at night then.”

      “It’s absolutely covered in tiny lights now, dear,” his mother said, positively beaming at him. “And Thrawn’s family were all hanging these gorgeous tapestries, oh goodness, I wish we had some for our house, they’re just splendid.

     “We brought back a box for you,” Skoloc said around a mouthful of food, which earned him scowls from pretty much every adult at the table. “Thrass said somethin’ about it...”

     Jorj, who was sitting next to Tycho, nodded. “He said he apologized for the oversight in not getting you appropriate robes of your own for the first day’s events and that he hopes what he sent makes up for it. I didn’t look at it but I think it’s stuff for you to wear to the rest of the ceremonies.”

     Tycho just nodded a bit. “I’m just glad you all survived things without me today,” he said.

    “We had Ar’alani there to take care of us,” Tycho’s mother said. She reached out to pat the Chiss admiral’s arm, but Ar’alani was too quick and she managed to dodge the unwanted physical contact by taking a long gulp of wine from the glass in front of her. Tycho’s mother seemed a bit nonplussed, but just shrugged it off.

     [After refreshments,] Ar’alani said, [you will all be subjected to a final set of ceremonies before the marriage ceremony tomorrow.] Her eyes darted to Tycho’s mother, then back to Tycho. [Tonight your family mourns your death as their unmarried son. However, they also celebrate your impending rebirth and return to them as a married man. That is what tonight’s feat celebrates.] She pursed her lips, then added, [Please inform your mother than her histrionics from last night should have been saved for tonight, and she may repeat them at her leisure.]

     “What happened at the gift exchange today?” Tycho muttered to Jorj and Mia. “Ar’alani seems a little more...um...tense than usual.”

     Mia shook her head and whispered, “If I thought it would have done any good, I would say that Mom really could have used some lessons on Chiss etiquette and culture before coming here, but you know how she is. It wouldn’t have helped. Thrass’s family served that same tea Thrawn always makes and she just prattled on and on and _on_ about how _delicious_ it is and how it always reminds her of Thrawn because he’s such a dear and he taught her how to make it. Thrass didn’t seem bothered, but I think it really worked Ar’alani’s last nerve.”

     Tycho sighed a little. There was nothing he could do about it, he knew. He just hoped Ar’alani wouldn’t try something drastic, like jettisoning Mrs. Celchu out an airlock or something. “She just has to get through a couple more days,” he muttered. “Just a couple more days.”

     To Tycho’s delight, the ceremony after dinner was surprisingly simple. They gathered around a small fire built in a pit in the kitchen. Ar’alani once again had to perform all of the duties that would normally be the responsibility of Chiss relatives, though tonight she insisted on a little more interaction from each of Tycho’s relatives. They were each given a blue cloth of some sort. The edges of each cloth were edged in the deepest matte black, even if the blue portion of the fabric was in any way shiny or shimmery. Ar’alani briefly explained that among the Chiss, mourning was represented by black added to other things. For people who normally wore family colors, like Aristocras, that meant their clothes would be edged in black until the mourning period was over. For members of the military who wore black uniforms, any colored trim or accessories (including metallic rank bars) would be replaced with black ones. People who wore white, like Ar’alani herself, they would edge their clothes in black like the Aristocras did. And then at the funeral of the dead person, those closest to him or her would cover the body with black-edged cloths in the mourners’ family colors. The body and cloths would then be burned together at the end of the funeral.

     [Of course,] she finished, [this isn’t a real funeral, so we aren’t going to burn Tycho. But you are going to symbolically place the cloths on him and we are going to burn those. And then we have a feast to recognize that he is not in fact truly dead and that it’s just his status as a single man that has moved on. He will be reborn, and will rejoin your family, as a married man over the next few days.] Tycho and his family nodded their understanding after their translators finished translating, and Ar’alani gave a curt nod of approval. [Then I shall begin the ceremony. Follow my lead. You may cover any part of his body that you wish, but you must do it in the exact manner that I do.]

     They nodded again, and Ar’alani turned away from them for a moment to collect her own piece of cloth – a large square of semi-sheer copper-green fabric, edged in a thick band of matte black. A trio of cadets gathered in the kitchen corner began singing a slow, haunting melody, clearly a funeral march of some sort, though Tycho found that he couldn’t understand so much as a single word of it. For several long minutes, nothing happened, and Tycho soon found himself drifting into a sort of trance state brought on by the heat from the fire and the singing of the cadets.

     And then, a heart-wrenching wail pierced the air, and Tycho nearly fell off of his seat. He jerked his head around to see what had happened, only to see an apparently grief-stricken Ar’alani approaching him. The wail had come from _her_ , of all people. As Tycho and his family watched, she fell to her knees in front of him, her own low keens joining and adding another layer to the song. Tycho noticed other cadets joining the gathering now, each one taking up a position behind one of his relatives, and he wondered if relatives were supposed to sing or wail during this ceremony. If they were, it seemed that the cadets were going to do it for them.

     Ar’alani’s cries faded away as she began singing like the cadets in the corner, and she rose up a bit, holding the cloth before her in both hands. She adjusted her grip on it a bit and allowed most of the cloth to fall from her hands, thought she held on to two corners of it. She leaned forward enough to drape it over Tycho’s back, then slowly drew it forward until his face was covered. He could barely see through the fabric and could only make out the vague shapes of his family and the others now, but he could still tell when Ar’alani rose to her feet and returned to her seat in front of the fire, still singing. He wasn’t sure what happened after that to let his family members know that it was their turn, or to let them know who should go next, but one by one starting with his mother they came forward to leave a cloth over him before returning to their seats. Just as he had suspected, the cadet behind each one joined the singing as each relative got up to add their cloth to the pile on top of Tycho.

     Just when he thought he wouldn’t be able to take it anymore – the cloth pile was making him hot and the singing and heat were starting to put him to sleep – everything stopped. There was silence for a moment, broken only by the quiet crackling of the fire, and then hands lifted the cloths from him and tossed them into the flames. Tycho took a deep breath and leaned back to watch them burn. It didn’t take long.

     Finally, when that last part was over, Ar’alani stirred. [The feast should be ready now,] she said. [We’ll eat in the dining room, as usual.]

     Two cadets helped Tycho to his feet, and the group made their way into the dining room, where Tycho was seated at the place of honor. The meal was much simpler than he had been expecting, and a cadet helpfully explained to him that the food at the marriage ceremony was going to be so rich that Chiss preferred lighter meals in the days leading up to it. Even so, Tycho went to bed feeling quite full.

     Somehow, he slept peacefully through the whole night.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

      The following morning, Tycho was dragged out of bed at sunrise for a bath. But it wasn’t like any bath he had ever seen. First, he was left alone in the bathroom to scrub himself clean, and only then was he allowed in the bath, which was incredibly hot and had been enhanced by an astounding array of additives – minerals in the form of round balls that fizzed as they melted, herbal infusions poured in from colorful glass bottles of various shapes and sizes, dried flowers scattered so thickly across the top that Tycho couldn’t even see to the bottom of the deep tub.

     [What’s this?] he asked Sev’ani’ryn, who was standing beside the tub and emptying a brilliant purple bottle full of herb-infused water into it.

     [A ritual cleansing bath,] the Chiss replied.

     [...But I just took a shower. I’m clean,] Tycho said.

     [Yes. That’s why this is a _ritual_ bath,] Sev’ani’ryn countered, giving Tycho a cheeky grin.

     Tycho raised an eyebrow. [Ah. A holdover from the old religious days?]

     [Exactly.]

     [It seems like such a hassle. Why bother?]

     Sev’ani’ryn laughed. [It smells good and works wonders on skin. Besides, can you think of anything more luxurious than just sitting for an hour in a massive bathtub full of hot water and expensive additives?]    

     [Not much, no,] Tycho admitted. He shooed the cadets so he could get into the tub in peace, and leaned back against the wall to relax. He did indeed get a good hour of rest and relaxation in before they came to retrieve him. He hopped back into the shower for a moment to rinse stray flower pieces off of himself, then dried off, pulled on some underwear, and allowed the Chiss to dress him. His outfit for the day was another white tunic with white pants, but this time a grey belt and half-cape were added to the mix. Most of the work of dressing him involved arranging the cape so it hung off of one shoulder without falling off. And then it was time for Tycho to receive his guests.

     Chiss weddings involved many gift exchanges. This would be the final one – a meeting between Tycho and Thrawn’s family on one side and between Thrawn and Tycho’s family on the other. When Tycho arrived in the main room of Ar’alani’s house, he found Thrass and a few other Chiss already waiting for him, with two rows of neatly wrapped gifts in the center of the room. Tycho took up a seat behind one row, with Thrass and the others arranged behind the other row. They exchanged a solemn, seated bow, and then Thrass motioned to the gifts.

     [You have no idea what these are, do you?] he asked.

     =Not a clue,= Tycho said, grateful that he could switch to the easier Minnisiat.

     Thrass just nodded. [At this point in a ceremony, we exchange gifts representing our commitments to each other. You, my future brother-in-law, present me with presents representing your joy at this event, your acknowledgement that you are joining yourself not only to Thrawn but to his family as well, and your commitment to him as his future spouse. In exchange, I present to you gifts representing the Chiss ideals of welcome, hospitality, and my commitment to care for you the same way I care for my brother.] He motioned to one cylindrical object, wrapped in white fabric and tied together with burgundy and blue ribbons woven around it in an elaborate pattern. [I also present you with this candle, which you will use in the marriage ceremony tomorrow. Does that all make sense?]

      Tycho nodded. =So um. What’s in the boxes?=

     Thrass laughed. [Just small things. These days it’s usually food. Little buns with various fillings. In the past they would have been actual objects that families would keep forever, but these days there’s no point to that and it’s more the thought behind the gifts that counts anyway.]

     =I see.= Tycho nodded. =So how do we...?=

     Thrass raised his hand, and immediately the cadets Ar’alani had left with Tycho stepped forward and, with a few swift motions, completely switched the two lines of gifts so that the ones that had once been directly in front of Tycho were now in front of Thrass. One cadet reverently carried the candle from Thrass’s side to Tycho and offered it to him. Tycho took it and held on to it carefully. =Thank you,= he said, nodding to Thrass.

     [Of course. And I do apologize about the clothing mishap, Tycho, though I understand you found a satisfactory solution.] He smiled a little. [It’s not the normal way to settle on a family color, but I must admit that blue _does_ suit you.]

     Tycho laughed and nodded. =You could say that,= he said. =It suits me in more ways than one.=

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho woke up while it was still dark the next morning, and rolled out of bed to go get a drink in the kitchen. Nobody else was awake, so after getting some water he returned to his room to try to get a little more sleep. But it didn’t work. He was just too tense and excited. _This is it, finally,_ he thought to himself. _I get to see him again. And by the end of today we’ll really be married. I almost can’t believe it’s real. I almost expect to wake up and get told it’s all been a dream_.

     But it wasn’t a dream, and almost as soon as the first bits of light indicating sunrise started working their way into his room, the cadets who were to help him this morning appeared in his room. He was whisked away for another bath like the one from the day before, then, dressed in nothing more than a simple robe, he went downstairs to join his family for their last breakfast together as just the Celchus. Ar’alani made an appearance to congratulate them and to let them know she would be helping with the remaining activities that day, but otherwise she left them alone to eat by themselves. Tycho was grateful for that. He really did just want to spend this morning with his family.

     But finally, breakfast was over, and they all went upstairs to help Tycho get dressed. Ar’alani had kept herself busy during breakfast by laying out his clothes – an elaborate outfit, clearly based on the Chiss military uniforms, decorated with silver embroidery and well-placed rhinestones that caught the light and sent little rainbows dancing along the walls. The uniform pants were plain white, and the matching white boots bore decorations similar to those on the formal jacket. There was a belt to go with the jacket, and when Tycho picked it up to move it aside he found that it was metal, but very light-weight. He wondered if that was a property of the metal itself or if it was because the whole belt was made of links worked in elaborate filigree patterns. The entire outfit was topped off with a thick, velvety white cape trimmed in silver and held in place at one shoulder with a large but elegant silver brooch. The brooch had several deep blue jewels in the center of it, the only real bit of color in the outfit.

      “Thrass did this?” Tycho asked, staring at the outfit.

      “Must have,” his father said. “These Chiss work fast.”

     Getting Tycho into the outfit took a bit of work, but once everything was on, he took a good look at himself in the mirror and decided it was more than worth it.

     “You look like something out of a holovid,” Pala said.

     “Dude, you look like a superhero,” Skoloc added.

     Tycho’s father just nodded in approval, and his mother sniffled. She bustled over to straighten his tunic. “You look absolutely radiant, darling,” she said. “I’m so proud of you.”

     Tycho grinned and hugged her, but anything else he might have said or done was interrupted by an urgent knock on the door and Ar’alani’s voice calling for them. Tycho opened the door so he could hear her better.

     [They have already started out,] she said. [We have to go too or we’ll be late.] She paused and gave Tycho a quick once-over. [...Well, you certainly do clean up well. Now hurry up or you’ll miss your own wedding.]

     Tycho laughed and grabbed the last few things he would need, and then they rushed after Ar’alani. She and all of the cadets were dressed up for the occasion too, the cadets in their dress uniforms and Ar’alani in a gown done entirely in shades of grey. Tycho’s family had opted for things they brought from home, and as a result were dressed in an assortment of colors and styles. The Chiss cadets in particular seemed amused by it – after all, in their experience, families usually shared a color for events like this.

     Tycho was pleased to note that a whole collection of speeders was waiting for them outside. Ar’alani waved Tycho and his parents into the first one, then joined them. Almost as soon as she was seated, they were off.

     [Have you thought about your representative?] she asked.

     [I thought that was you,] Tycho replied.

     [This is a different representative,] she said. [This one leads us into the venue and carries the lit candle representing you and your family. It could be me, but it would better if you pick someone you know.]

    [My brother, I guess,] he said. Skoloc would appreciate having something serious to do.

    Ar’alani nodded in approval. [Good choice.]

    The trip didn’t take as long as Tycho thought it would, and within a few minutes they were climbing out of the speeders and allowing Ar’alani to organize them into an orderly arrangement. Skoloc wound up at the head of the line, with Jorj positioned directly behind him to translate. Tycho was placed alone at the very end of the line, with his parents and other siblings in front of him. Ar’alani and her cadets arranged themselves at the front of the line.

     “Why are we all the way back here?” Tycho’s mother asked.

     Maris, who had been placed with the family, tapped a cadet on the shoulder and asked. “It’s just how it’s done,” she translated. “The one getting married is last in line, then close relatives in front of them, then friends, then anyone else.”

     “Oh.” His mother was clearly not content with that explanation, but Tycho’s father convinced her not to push it any more. And just in time too – she had barely stopped muttering questions at him when the massive doors in front of them were opened and they began to process into the building. There was a brief pause as Ar’alani directed Skoloc to light the candle he carried from a much larger candle placed just inside the door, but then they were off, moving through the doors and down one of the side aisles at a slow but steady pace.

      Tycho looked around as he entered. Just as Thrawn had said, the entire building was carved from ice, and the thousands of tiny lights that had been used to decorate the interior made the entire room sparkle like crystal. Most of the decorations were white and silver, though Tycho noticed a single large candle at the front of the room wrapped in the same burgundy and blue ribbons as the ones around the candle Skoloc carried. The only real differences were the size of the candle (it was certainly the biggest Tycho had ever seen) and the elaborate gold and silver filigrees on the loose ends of the ribbons. The table the candle rested on was covered in a white cloth decorated in blue and burgundy. There were flowers everywhere too, of various kinds, but every single one was a pure, perfect white that Tycho would have thought was impossible in nature. But the thing that caught Tycho’s attention the most was the music, a combination of choral singing and instrumental music that rose and fell, gathering strength and then going quiet again, only to well up once more and then explode like ocean waves crashing into rocks on a gorgeous beach somewhere. He had never quite heard anything like it, but it was beautiful.

     Finally, he turned his attention to the opposite side of the room, where a similar procession was making its way in. Most of the individuals in that group were wearing dress uniforms, and they were led by a young Chiss who had an amazingly solemn expression on his face. He had an absolute death grip on his candle, as though dropping it would bring him some kind of horrible punishment. Tycho doubted that would happen, but then, the embarrassment of dropping such an important object would probably be punishment enough for the young man.

     As they neared the end of their journey, the cadets suddenly broke off and began arranging themselves in seats throughout the room. A few waited to direct Tycho’s family to their seats in the front row, then scurried back to their own much less prestigious places. Ar’alani guided Skoloc to the candle and made him pause until his counterpart from Thrawn’s entourage arrived, and then the two simultaneously reached up, lighting the larger candle from both of theirs. Skoloc copied the Chiss as he set his own candle in an empty candleholder to the side of the larger central one, then they gave each other crisp bows before returning to their seats. Ar’alani settled into a seat just beside the table, then caught Tycho’s eye and motioned for him to step forward.

     Tycho had been so fascinated by what his brother was doing, and so worried about walking into someone, that he had come to a dead stop. But at Ar’alani’s urging, he took a deep breath, stepped forward, and turned his head just slightly to see if Thrawn had had any similar issued.

     What he saw nearly made him trip over himself. Waiting patiently at the end of his aisle for Tycho to catch up was Thrawn, dressed in almost exactly the same outfit as Tycho, though his was accented with gold and several tiny red gemstones in the brooch. He was absolutely radiant, like something out of the old Chiss mythology. He smiled a little when he noticed Tycho looking at him and gave a barely perceptible nod in the direction of the space in front of the table with the candles, then took a single step forward. Tycho gulped a little and stepped forward too, matching his pace to Thrawn’s, and within moments they were together again for the first time in days. Without even thinking about it, Tycho reached out and took Thrawn’s hands. Thrawn raised their joined hands to about chest height, pulling Tycho just a step closer, and gave his hands a comforting squeeze. Though they both barely noticed, the choir and orchestra grew substantially quieter, so that any spoken words could be heard over them.

     Ar’alani rose from her seat and came to stand just behind the couple, between them and the table, and wrapped a cord made of blue and burgundy ribbons loosely around their wrists. As she did, two Chiss Tycho didn’t know stepped forward from Thrawn’s side, and Nyiestra and Skoloc stepped forward from Tycho’s side, so that they were just behind the appropriate person. Ar’alani waited until Tycho’s mother and Thrawn’s brother joined them. Tycho’s mother placed her hand on Tycho’s shoulder as Ar’alani directed, and Thrass mirrored her movement. Maris joined the small crowd behind Tycho so that she could continue translating for them as needed.

     Finally, with everyone in their appropriate places, Ar’alani clasped her hands behind her back and looked first to Thrawn and Tycho. [You are here today to pledge your loyalty and love to each other in the bond of marriage. This is a very serious matter among the Chiss, not something to be entered into lightly or at the urging of others. Therefore, I ask you both, are you here today of your own free will?]

     [Yes,] they said, somehow managing to time it so they were perfectly synched. Even Ar’alani’s lips twitched into a smile at that.

      The Admiral then turned her attention to Skoloc, Nyiestra, and the two Chiss who had come to stand behind Thrawn. [You act as representatives of the men before you here today. Do you also affirm that they are here of their own free will, and not at the urging or threat of another?]

     [We do,] Thrawn’s companions said.

     “Yes,” Skoloc and Nyiestra said. For a moment, Tycho thought Ar’alani would protest their use of Basic, but she just watched them until they nodded to confirm what they had said. Then she moved on.

      [And to you, who represent their families,] she said, attention now turned to Thrass and Mrs. Celchu. [Do you and those you represent understand and accept your obligation to help these two in any way you can, to each accept your relative’s new spouse into your homes and lives as full members of your family, and to guide them as they make the transition to married life?]

     Thrass nodded solemnly. [I do,] he said. Even to Tycho’s ears, he sounded a little choked up.

     Tycho’s mother gave his shoulder a quick squeeze, then said, [I do,] in the shakiest Cheunh Tycho had ever heard. A ripple of quiet but appreciative laughter went through the crowd, and even Thrawn couldn’t help but smile and chuckle a little. Ar’alani seemed to wilt with relief. She waited until a pair of cadets ushered them all back to their seats, then turned her attention back to Tycho and Thrawn. [I understand that on Alderaan, it is customary to exchange vows at this time. It is not a Chiss custom, but...Thrawn insisted.] Another round of soft laughter went through the crowd. Apparently they all knew Thrawn’s reputation for being a bit unorthodox. [Therefore, since I understand you have both prepared something to say to the other, at this time you may do so.]

     Indeed, a good portion of their time during their flight to Csilla from Alderaan had been spent writing vows together and deciding who would speak first. They had even decided that, for the sake of their respective families, they would each speak their own native languages. Tycho cleared his throat, squeezed Thrawn’s hands, and began.

     “When I met you, well, I never thought we would wind up _here._ ” Thrawn grinned at him, and Tycho continued, “But I’m glad we did. You have taught me so much, and I’m so grateful for it. One of the things you taught me is that I can love someone so much that I would do anything to be with them. The road ahead of us is tough, there’s no getting around that. But I have no doubts that we can handle it if we face it together, and my promise to you is that we will _always_ face it together, until death forces us apart.”

      Thrawn beamed at him, and when it was clear Tycho had finished, he said, [Tycho. You put up with so much and I know that nothing about this has been easy on you. Knowing that I meant enough to you that you could push through all of that just makes me love you all the more. Because of that, I have no reservations about promising you that I will always stand by your side, supporting you and caring for you through the best times and the worst times, until the end of our days.] He paused, then leaned forward to whisper in Tycho’s ear, “You are my light and my joy, the reason I wake up in the morning and the last person I think of before sleeping at night, the absolute love of my life, and you always will be.”

     Tycho yanked one hand out of Thrawn’s grip so he could wipe at the tears forming in his own eyes, making everything a blur. Thrawn allowed it, and the moment Tycho felt that he could see clearly enough again he wrapped his free arm around Thrawn’s neck. Chiss customs be damned, he didn’t care if kissing Thrawn created the scandal of the century on Csilla, he was going to do it. Thrawn caught on quickly and dropped Tycho’s other hand, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist as they kissed. Tycho heard Ar’alani give a scandalized little gasp, but then everyone else clapped and cheered in approval. He barely even noticed the flashes of light indicating that someone was taking holos.

     When they finally broke the kiss, Tycho took a moment to look into Thrawn’s eyes, then turned to the gathered crowd and said, [And _that_ is how we do it on Alderaan.]

 

***   ***   ***

 

     By the time they arrived back at Ar’alani’s for the reception, the party was already in full swing. Tycho had no idea how she had managed to arrange that – it wasn’t like he and Thrawn had taken _that_ many holos after the ceremony ended – but he was pleased with it. There wasn’t much in the universe more awkward than walking into a party that hadn’t even gotten under way yet.

     He was surprised to note that almost all of the Chiss present had changed out of their relatively drab uniforms and into much more colorful outfits. “You know, I knew the Chiss liked to use occasions like this to let their hair down,” he commented, “I just didn’t know they let it down this far.”

      Thrawn laughed. “Oh yeah. I mean, we don’t stray far from the paradigm of family colors. But, you know, there’s still a lot of leeway there.”

     Ar’alani herself proved that point by showing up in a gorgeous copper gown with bright green accents. When she noticed that Thrawn and Tycho had finally arrived, she clapped for attention and announced their presence, and the pair took their seats at the head of the room amidst much clapping and cheering. They had barely sat down before a group of cadets Tycho recognized struck up an exuberant song, and within moments the empty space in the center of the room was filled with dancing Chiss. Tycho’s family hung back, mostly just watching. After all, they had no idea how these dances went.

     The dancing was interrupted by the arrival of the first of what would be many courses in an extravagant multi-course feast. Thrass and Tycho’s family joined Thrawn and Tycho at their table to eat and talk. As it turned out, the feast was organized so there was plenty of time between each course for more dancing. Most of the dances were group dances, with set steps, and at first Tycho found them to be incredibly confusing. But Thrawn did manage to talk him into joining a few dances, and before long Tycho knew enough of the basic steps to survive in any of the dances.

     “It’s a good thing we can’t tell anyone about this,” Tycho said as they collapsed back in their seats just in time for a soup course. “Nobody would believe us anyway.”

      Thrawn laughed a little and nodded. “You’re probably right. It’s a pity. Perhaps we should come back here for your birthday. I’m sure I could convince Thrass to have a party, even though it’s not really the Chiss way.”

      Tycho shook his head. “Not this year. I’ve had plans arranged for my twenty-first since before I met you, I can’t really break them without hurting a lot of people.”

      “I understand. Ah well. We’ll just have to have amazing sex that night.”

      Tycho nearly choked on his soup, but fortunately none of their relatives seemed to have caught Thrawn’s comment. Thrass didn’t speak enough Basic, Mia was too busy poking through her food to notice much, Skoloc and Pala were busily eyeing the young Chiss at other tables, and Tycho’s parents were already studying the holos they had been taking all evening. Tycho frowned a little when he realized that Skoloc had a bit of a flirtation going with a pretty young cadet dressed mostly in shades of yellow. “Should we be letting him do that?” he muttered to Thrawn.

     Thrawn shrugged. “She’s a Chaf. Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s the Aristocra’s youngest sister. If he’s going to flirt with anyone here it might as well be her.”

     Tycho just nodded and tried to turn his attention back to his soup, but his attention was dragged back to his siblings a moment later when a Chiss man in an ensign’s uniform appeared at Pala’s side, holding out his hand to her. She tilted her head and he nodded to the dance floor, then raised an eyebrow in what was clearly a question. She didn’t even ask anyone else’s opinion, just jumped up out of her chair and dashed off to dance with him. “And do I need to be worried about that?” Tycho asked.

     Thrawn laughed. “No, Stent is a good person. Only an ensign, but already so capable. He’ll go far.”

     Tycho twitched. “Stent?” Nothing like a medical term for a name.

     “Kres’ten’tarthi. He hasn’t been adopted by a family yet, which is a little odd, but I understand there are some complicated politics involved. He doesn’t talk about it much and I don’t pry.”

     “Ah,” Tycho said. “Probably a good idea.”

     Finally, hours later, the feast was over and Tycho was exhausted. He and Thrawn left to the cheers and applause of their guests, most of whom were either drunk or well on their way there. The party was going to continue without them for a while, but fortunately the room Ar’alani had set aside from them was so far away from the festivities that they couldn’t hear a thing. They closed and locked the door behind them, and Tycho collapsed onto the bed. Thrawn crawled in beside him and started running his back with one hand.

     “Don’t take this wrong,” Tycho said, voice muffled by the bedding, “but I’m going to pass out so happy newlywed sex is going to have to wait.”

     Thrawn chuckled and nipped at his ear. “Of course. We have all of tomorrow morning. And tomorrow evening.”

      “You mean we don’t have any events in the morning?”

     “Only the afternoon.” Thrawn rolled out of bed to strip out of his formal clothes, draping them carefully over the back of a chair.

     “Thank the Force,” Tycho muttered. He sat up on the edge of the bed to do the same, and Thrawn took his clothes for him. “It hasn’t hit me yet. How about you?”

     Thrawn crawled back into bed and pulled the blankets up over himself, then shook his head. “Nope. Give it a few days. In a week or so we’ll wake up and be having breakfast one morning and all of a sudden it’ll be like hey, we’re _married._ ”

     Tycho grinned before curling up beside him, resting his head on Thrawn’s chest. The Chiss wrapped his arms around Tycho and rubbed his hand along Tycho’s arm. “Did someone tell you that’s what would happen?”

      “One of my guests, yes. He has been married for longer than we’ve been alive, combined. That’s a long time.”

     “Well then, I guess he knows what he’s talking about.” Tycho yawned and closed his eyes. “I hope we make it that long.”

      Thrawn nodded and kissed Tycho’s hair. “I don’t hope it. I know we will.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 

     By the time Tycho woke up the next morning, it was already very bright in his room. The sun had been up for hours, and based on how bright it was, Tycho suspected it was close to mid-day. He groaned a little and rubbed his head. The past few days had been even more exhausting that he had thought.

     Finally, he rolled over to look at Thrawn. The Chiss was already awake, quietly watching Tycho, a small smile on his lips as he did. When he noticed Tycho was awake, he grinned and reached out to stroke the other’s hair. “Good morning,” he said.

     “ ‘Morning.” Tycho paused. “...I feel like we the first thing we said to each other on our first morning together as a married couple should have had a little more oomph to it than that.”

     Thrawn raised one eyebrow a bit. “I could get up and give a speech if you would like. Though it might lose a bit of gravitas to the fact that I’m not even wearing underwear.”

     Tycho took a quick look under the blankets, which just made Thrawn laugh. “Huh, look at that. Not so much as a thong.”

     “How does anyone wear those monstrosities?” Thrawn asked.

     “I have no idea and I don’t ever want to either,” Tycho said. He rolled a little close to kiss Thrawn. “I’m too busy thinking about other things anyway.”

     “Oh? Things like what?”

     He lightly traced a finger over Thrawn’s chest. “Things like...what we skipped last night because I was so tired.”

     Thrawn nodded slowly. “Hmm...yes, that is something good to think about.”

     “Do we have time to do anything about it?” Tycho asked.

     Thrawn smirked. “Today’s festivities are limited and entirely dependent on us. Nothing important will happen without us and we are expected to do things at our leisure today.”

     “So that’s a yes.” Tycho’s hand inched lower and lower along Thrawn’s torso, finally disappearing under the blanket and brushing lightly over his length.

     “Indeed,” Thrawn replied, getting comfortable against the pillows. “That’s a yes.”

     Tycho leaned in for a deep kiss, which Thrawn returned eagerly, his own hands coming up to rest on Tycho’s lower back. Tycho paused for a moment to collect some lube from the nearest nightstand, then went back to stroking Thrawn until he was fully erect. By that time, the Chiss’s eyes had fallen half closed and he was breathing slowly and deeply, his hands slowly stroking up and down Tycho’s back. When Tycho paused for a bit to make use of the lube, he let out an impatient growl, which immediately turned to a satisfied groan when he felt Tycho’s hand on him again. After a few moments, he opened his eyes wider and started moving to get on top, but Tycho pushed against his shoulder to make him lay down again.

     “Tycho, what –“

     “Shh, just relax. I want to try something.” Tycho chuckled a little at Thrawn’s curious look and shifted to straddle his lap. “Hold onto my hips or something,” he said, and carefully positioned himself. A look of understanding dawned on Thrawn’s face, and he rested his hands on Tycho’s hips as the other slowly lowered himself onto Thrawn’s hard length. “Oh...damn...” Tycho hissed.

    “Take it slow,” Thrawn murmured. “We’re in no rush.”

    “You’d think I’d be used to it by now,” Tycho said.

     “Not in this position. We’ve never tried this before.”

     Tycho couldn’t really argue with that. He paused for a bit to get more comfortable, then rested his hands on Thrawn’s shoulders as he began to move. Thrawn somehow managed to stay perfectly still, just moving his hands up Tycho’s back a bit to pull the other man closer for kisses. Tycho moaned as he moved, digging his fingers into Thrawn’s shoulders and shivering a little. Finally, he just lay against Thrawn, clinging to him and moving his hips in tight circles. Thrawn nipped at his ear a little and thrust up gently. Tycho gasped sharply and tensed, so Thrawn just rubbed his back a little and didn’t thrust again for a while. When he did, it was an even slower movement than before, and it dragged a deep groan of complete pleasure from Tycho.

      “You’re so good, my love,” Thrawn said softly, resting one hand on the back of Tycho’s head as he kissed him.

     Tycho grabbed at the pillow behind Thrawn’s head. “Faster...just a bit...please.”

     Thrawn was more than happy to comply, and before long they were moving together in near-perfect unison, with Tycho becoming louder and louder with each passing moment. Finally, he tensed and let out a sharp cry as he came, which pushed Thrawn over the edge moments later. Tycho collapsed on top of him, shuddering and clinging as his body slowly relaxed.

     “...We need to start more mornings like that,” he finally mumbled.

     Thrawn chuckled and kissed his hair. “As many as we can,” he agreed softly.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     It was officially lunch time before the two finally made it out of their room and back to Ar’alani’s dining room, and along the way Tycho found himself feeling terribly guilty. Though he wouldn’t say the house was trashed (far from it, actually), it was clear that the party had continued long into the night after he finally went to bed and that the revelry had made quite a mess of the Admiral’s usually neat home. Several of the partiers had simply fallen asleep on various pieces of furniture, which wouldn’t have bothered Tycho very much if he hadn’t found Pala among them. She was cuddled up beside the ensign who had asked her to dance the night before.

     “At least they’re both still dressed,” Tycho muttered to Thrawn. “Any sign of Skoloc?”

     “Not of Skoloc,” Thrawn replied, eyeing a pile of cloth on the floor, “but I’m quite sure this is his date’s dress.”

     “...You know what? I don’t want to know. Let Mom and Dad and that Chaf Aristocra deal with it,” Tycho said. Thrawn just chuckled a little and followed Tycho into the dining room, where they were both surprised to see that Ar’alani was awake and sitting at her table, drinking some Chiss tea and reading the latest news. She looked up as they came in and smiled a little.

     [Am I the first to see you, then?] she asked.

     [Yes,] Thrawn replied, taking a seat at the other end of the table.

     [I guess I better start looking for a new lover then,] she said. Thrawn laughed a little.

    Tycho just looked confused. “What is she talking about?”

     “Oh, there’s an old Chiss superstition about the first people to see a newly-married couple on the day after their wedding. A couple will have luck in their relationship, while a single person will become engaged within the year.”

     “Ah,” Tycho said. He looked at Ar’alani and added, [Let me know how that works out for you.]

     She laughed and nodded. A cadet, one Tycho had never seen before, appeared with a tray bearing two cups and a fresh pot of tea, which she set in front of Thrawn before she scurried back off to the kitchen. As Thrawn poured, he asked, [You haven’t seen Tycho’s brother, have you?]

     Ar’alani shook her head. [Not since last night. The last thing I saw was him trying to sneak off with Chaf’orm’bintrano’s sister. I do believe they succeeded.]

      Tycho groaned and rubbed his face. “That’s not good.”

      “Why not? If he has to have a one-night stand with a random woman, she’s a good choice,” Thrawn said.

     Tycho just shook his head. The Chiss view of such things was clearly different from anything he was familiar with. Instead, he asked Ar’alani, [Have you seen my parents yet today?]

     [Oh yes, they and your older sister went to the marketplace with Mitth’ras’safis this morning,] she said. [They have not yet returned.]

     Tycho paled a little. [So they um...noticed that Pala is cuddling with an ensign and Skoloc is missing?]

     [Oh yes. I don’t think they were _pleased_ , but I promised to keep an eye on the sister and an eye out for the brother. They accepted that.]

    Somehow, Tycho doubted it had gone down as easily as Ar’alani made it sound. More than likely she had to promise to call them home the moment Skoloc so much as sneezed, and more than likely Mrs. Celchu was spending the entire time fretting about the innocence of her two youngest children. He didn’t have too long to worry, though, because Skoloc and the Chaf woman appeared a few minutes later, and the rest of the Celchu family returned a few minutes after that. Tycho’s parents dragged Skoloc off to another room to lecture him on proper behavior, but Tycho was sure the lesson wasn’t going to sink in. He was equally sure the lecture they gave his sister a short time after that wouldn’t sink in either, but in both cases he decided to try being optimistic.

     Finally, Thrass and the Celchus joined Tycho, Thrawn, and Ar’alani at the table, and the Chiss who had been sleeping throughout the house slowly came to and went off to wherever the belonged – the cadets to whatever section of the house they were staying in, and the others to their own homes. None of them left without stopping by for a moment to congratulate Tycho and Thrawn again and to thank Ar’alani for hosting the party, but even so, the house emptied out quickly. Before long, all of the guests were gone, and Ar’alani was all business once again.

     [Today, you both rejoin your families of origin and officially join the families of your new spouses,] she explained to Tycho and Thrawn once everyone was settled. [The ceremony is very easy. You serve tea, first to your families and then to your new in-laws, and in return they acknowledge you in some way, usually with a pat on the shoulder or a kiss on the head. It’s really up to them.]

     [And that’s it?] Tycho asked. After the complex things he had had to do over the past few days, he just couldn’t believe it was that easy.

     [Yes,] Ar’alani said. [Of course it used to be more complex. But...well...you two didn’t even come down here until noon. Some intelligent person decided long ago that a simple ceremony on a day like this made more sense than a terribly elaborate one.]

     Tycho nodded. [I like it. Well, then, let’s do it].

     A cadet appeared with all the tea and teacups they would need. These cups were small, each able to hold only a sip or two of tea at a time, and were clearly just meant for ceremonial use. Tycho and Thrawn filled them all, then quietly served their own families. Thrawn and Thrass embraced warmly, then waited patiently for Tycho to work his way through his parents and three siblings. Then they switched. Thrass embraced Tycho too, and then they watched to see how Thrawn would make out with Tycho’s family. His siblings and father just shook Thrawn’s hand, but Tycho’s mother took Thrawn by the shoulders and stood on her toes to kiss both of his cheeks, then reached up to tousle his hair and give his cheek a pat before sending him on his way. Tycho was both horrified and amused. Thrawn, meanwhile, found an excuse to rush off to the bathroom to straighten his now-unruly hair. But aside from that slight trauma, the ceremony was a success, and the family (plus Ar’alani) enjoyed a wonderful lunch after it.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho’s family left to return to Alderaan the following day, leaving Thrawn and Tycho behind to enjoy their honeymoon in Chiss space. They went to the docking area with the Celchus to see them off, though. Thrass and Ar’alani came too, and shortly before they all left, the ensign Stent and the Chaf woman (who had finally been identified to Tycho as bearing the core name Fannu) made appearances as well to say goodbye to Skoloc and Pala. Tycho was impressed – they certainly didn’t have to show up and he got the impression that Fannu in particular was risking a lot to do so, and yet here they were. Apparently Thrawn had been right in his judgment of their character.

     “Dear I need you to translate for me,” his mother said, coming over and grabbing Thrawn’s arm. “Learning that one word of Cheunh was difficult enough, I’m never going to be able to learn anything else at this rate. If you two give me grandchildren they better speak Basic.”

     “Mom, we _just_ got married, can we worry about that later?” Tycho asked.

     “Of course we can, I’m just saying it’s something you need to think about! Now Thrawn dear, can you please tell your brother than we had the most wonderful time with him in the marketplace the other day and we’re so very pleased that Tycho has someone like him watching out for him now and that he is welcome back on Alderaan any time he wants.” Thrawn did translate, and Tycho’s mother spent the entire time squeezing Thrass’s arm for emphasis. “In fact, maybe he should come for Life Day this year, wouldn’t that be lovely to have the entire extended family together for the holidays?” she added, practically hugging Thrass’s arm as Thrawn translated.

     Thrass gently extracted his arm from her grip and gave a reply that Thrawn tactfully translated as, “I’ll think about it, that time of year is very busy for me too.”

     “Ah well, we’ll keep a room ready for you anyway, darling,” Tycho’s mother said, reaching up to pat his cheek. Apparently the fact that he was her new son-in-law’s brother made her think that the no-touching rule no longer applied. She seemed to think it applied to Ar’alani too, and for once the Admiral wasn’t fast enough to escape. Mrs. Celchu grabbed her hands and squeezed, shaking them over and over while profusely thanking the Chiss woman for hosting them and helping so much with the wedding.

     Tycho thought he had never seen someone looked as relieved as Ar’alani did when she could finally free her hands from Mrs. Celchu’s clutches. But the Celchus were soon able to board their ship, and Tycho, Thrawn, and the others moved back to the safe zone to watch them take off. Thrawn had already programmed the appropriate flight paths into their shipboard computers, and they had promised to call after completing each leg of the journey successfully. Tycho was still worried, of course, but Thrawn rubbed his back a bit to soothe him and he knew his father would be able to handle the simple route Thrawn had laid out for them.

    “Come on,” Thrawn finally said, “we have to pack for our own trip.”

     “You said it’s a warm planet, right? Where we’re going, I mean.”

     “Oh yes. It’s the middle of winter there, but we’re going to the tropical islands at the equator so we’ll be nice and warm and have plenty of chances for things like swimming and beach sex.”

     “I am _so_ glad your brother and superior officer don’t speak Basic,” Tycho said as he followed Thrawn back to their waiting speeder.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well lookit that, an update! I haven't abandoned anything, I just got sucked into school work and other real-life things. So here's the next chapter.

**Chapter 24**   


     The next several months were a blur for both of them. Their biggest problem was setting into their new lives on the _Accuser_ , where both their different positions in the Fleet hierarchy and the Imperial disapproval of human/non-human relationships put quite a strain on their new married life. Thrawn found one ingenious way around it, though, by insisting that he would only accept the best pilot on the ship as his personal pilot whenever he had to go somewhere. Since the Emperor took a personal interest in Thrawn, nobody dared argue with him. And since Tycho was the best pilot on the ship, no other pilot was ever assigned to shuttle Thrawn places or to fly him around when he had leave. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but since the alternative was never getting to see each other except when they could sneak off somewhere for a private meeting on the ship, they decided it was better than nothing.

     The biggest bright spot in their year was going to see Tycho’s family for Life Day. The chosen color scheme that year was burgundy and gold. Tycho’s mother said she chose the color scheme because of Thrawn, which just made him blush. For his part, Tycho was just pleased to have a few days with his entire family, and was equally pleased that his parents still seemed happy with his marriage and accepting of his husband. He had known plenty of families who had liked their children’s spouses at first, only to have the relationship go sour sooner or later. He hoped it would never happen to his family.

     One night, about a month after Life Day and a couple of months before the first anniversary of his graduation, Tycho collected a cooler containing a small bottle of wine and two glasses and made his way to the current spot he and Thrawn were using as their hidden meeting place. It involved popping the cover off of a ventilation shaft, crawling through spaces that were only supposed to be accessible to the maintenance crew, and eventually coming out in a small unused storage room. Thrawn was already there, carefully replacing the panel he had used as his entrance. He turned as Tycho came in, his position clearly indicating that he was prepared to attack if it was anyone else, but the moment he recognized Tycho he relaxed.

     “I think our next hiding place should be somewhere slightly easier to reach,” Tycho said dryly.

     “Perhaps,” Thrawn said, “but then we run the risk of everyone hearing you scream while we have sex.”

     Tycho laughed. “There’s enough stuff like that going on here that I doubt anyone would really notice,” he said.

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like life in the pilots’ quarters is a little more lively than life in the officers’ quarters.”

     Tycho snorted as he fished the wine out of the cooler and set about opening it. “We just don’t have as much soundproofing on our walls as you guys do. I bet the officers are worse because they don’t even have to try to be quiet.”

     “True. If we could just find a reasonable excuse for you to visit me in my quarters...it would be so much nicer than finding these hidden corners every time.”

     Tycho poured them some wine and passed Thrawn a glass. “Yes, but honestly? I think it would be more of a risk for me to come see you regularly than for us to sneak away like this.”

      “I agree.” Thrawn sipped the wine and pondered it for a moment. “Very nice. From your parents?”

     “Yep. Early birthday present,” Tycho said.

     Thrawn sighed. “I forgot again.”

     “You’re not used to having to remember,” Tycho pointed out. “Besides, we didn’t _do_ anything last year, we were both too busy with school.”

     “Are we doing something this year?”

     Tycho swirled the wine in his glass and took another sip before answering. “Some of my friends and I have this long-standing agreement about what we do whenever one of us as a big birthday, like turning twenty-one like I am this year. So technically my party has been planned for me for ages, and I really can’t back out. A bunch of friends on other ships are taking leave just to come see me and we’re all going to this huge club on Coruscant together.”

      “I see.” Thrawn nodded and sipped quietly.

     Tycho leaned over and elbowed him. “You can come too, you know. I have a hotel room booked there already, have since last year...nobody on Coruscant is going to notice if you just happen to be there too.”

     “Especially not if I have business on Coruscant that requires me to be there at the same time?” Thrawn asked, a small smirk playing across his lips. Clearly, he was a few steps ahead of Tycho with the dastardly scheming just now.

    “Exactly,” Tycho said, raising his glass in a little toast. Thrawn clinked his against Tycho’s. “Make sure you bring some civilian clothes, at least for the party,” the human added. “On Coruscant you’ll draw a lot more attention for being in uniform than for not being human.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “Yeah, we’re going to a huge club tonight. Hobbie and Biggs chose it. Hobbie went once and Biggs said there’s nothing like it on Tattooine so he really wanted to go. And I didn’t argue.” Tycho laughed and took a sip of his sparkling wine.

     “Is Thrawn with you?” the holo of his father asked. “And is he going to the club too?”

     Tycho nodded. “Yes to both. He’s getting changed right now. Trying to find just the right thing to wear and all that.”

     “Dear, promise me you’ll have something proper to eat before you go clubbing,” his mother said. “That kind of alcohol on an empty stomach just isn’t healthy.”

     Tycho laughed. “Mom, don’t worry, we’re getting room service before we go.”

    Pala looked scandalized. “He’s not taking you _out_?”

     “We decided not to risk it,” Tycho said. “At least this way we can eat together and then show up at the club separately.”

     “You have to tell me what flavor cake you want the next time you come home,” his mother said. “I wanted to make you a big one and send it to the _Accuser_ for you but I was afraid it wouldn’t survive the trip.”

     “I would be more worried about it surviving my squadmates,” Tycho said dryly. “It would get to me, but only after they all got their hands on it and ‘tasted’ it.”

      His family laughed. “Listen Tycho, tell Thrawn I’ve been practicing dejarik, he’s not going to beat me so easily next time you’re home,” his father said.

     “I’m practicing too!” Skoloc said. “I want to play against him some time.”

     “I’m sure he’ll be pleased,” Tycho said, laughing a bit himself.

     “We really can’t wait until you come home again,” Mia said quietly. “Your job is just so dangerous...”

      “Well, I’ve made it this far. Just a few more months and I’ll hit the one-year mark,” Tycho told her. “And then I’ll be able to move to a different, more stable position and won’t be in the line of fire so much. It’ll be a bit easier for me to get leave too.”

      “They just opened a lovely new garden and art museum in the city center,” his mother said. “You would both love it just so much, so the next time you come we’ll g—“

     The image dissolved into static. Tycho frowned and gave the holo unit a smack, then shut it down, restarted it, and tried to reconnect the call himself. “Oh come on,” he grumbled when that didn’t work either.

      “What’s wrong? Did I miss your family?”

     Tycho turned and stared at Thrawn, who was wearing dark pants and grey shirt with shimmering silver threads woven through it. “Um. Wha...oh. Yeah, I was just talking to them, but we lost the connection.”

      Thrawn frowned a little. “And you can’t get it back?”

      “Nope. Must be a problem on their end. It happens. I’m going to have a field day teasing Dad about it though. He’s the head of Novacom, after all.”

    Thrawn grinned and finished adjusting his shirt. “I know.” Before he could say anything else, the door chime sounded. “That must be dinner, can you get it while I finish up in here?”

      Tycho nodded and went to retrieve their food. The server who had charged with bringing it to them pushed the small hovercart with the entire multi-course meal to the window-side table in their suite’s sitting area, then set out the first course before leaving. Thrawn waited until he was gone before appearing. “It smells good.”

     “It does.” Tycho poked around, examining the various dishes. “Nothing from the Rim?” he asked. The food was stuff he recognized – Alderaanian nerf steaks in wine sauce, a thick and creamy soup popular on Naboo, vegetables drizzled with a bright red sauce he wasn’t familiar with, a platter of mixed appetizers (including his favorite crackers with light and airy whipped cheese from Bespin), a selection of small side dishes, and elaborately decorated individual cakes from a popular high-end bakery on Coruscant.

     “Maybe for my birthday,” Thrawn teased. He wrapped his arms around Tycho from behind and kissed his cheek. “Happy birthday, love. You better make it to the next one.”

     Tycho laughed and turned to hug him. “I’ll do my best, I promise. Now let’s get started, I don’t want to rush through this so we’re not late to the club.”

     They finished dinner and the entire bottle of sparkling wine Tycho had opened while talking with his family, then grabbed the things they needed and headed out to the club. Thrawn dawdled in the room for a few minutes to give Tycho a head start. They would reconnect easily enough at the club.

     By the time Tycho arrived at the club, it was already packed and noisy and several people were being kicked out for being too dunk. He was pleased to see some non-humans there – at least Thrawn wouldn’t have a hard time getting in. Tycho’s friend Biggs Darklighter was waiting for him by the entrance and quickly dragged him off to one of the back corners. “We got here early,” he shouted over the music. “Wanted to set up.”

     “Set up?” Tycho shouted back. But he didn’t need to wait for an answer. The corner was already packed with pilots, a table behind them stacked high with presents and the table in front of them groaning under the weight of a massive multi-tiered cake. “Please tell me nothing is going to jump out of that,” Tycho said.

     Biggs just laughed. “Nah, we wouldn’t do that to you. But every layer is a different flavor.”

     “And has a matching drink?”

     “Ah, you figured out our plan.” Biggs gave him a friendly slap on the back before diving back into the party. Tycho hovered around the edge of the group as much as he could until Thrawn finally showed up, and only then allowed himself to be dragged into the thick of things.

     In years to come, Tycho would have to admit that the party was a smashing success. They all drank to excess, ate far too much of the multi-flavored cake, and eventually flooded the dance floor, where he and Thrawn were able to dance together without anyone noticing. After all, with so many bodies crammed together on the dance floor, nobody was going to pay much attention to the Chiss who just happened to be pressed up against the nearest human.

     Everything went smoothly, in fact, until Thrawn, Tycho, and a few others returned to the table to rest a little. One of the pilots decided to get a pitcher of ice water for those who wanted to try sobering up a little before leaving. Thrawn, meanwhile, found himself engaged in conversation with a rather drunk pilot from...well, he didn’t quite catch where. But the conversation was harmless and let him just kind of stare at Tycho, who was sitting across the table and sipping carefully at a glass full of some kind of electric-pink drink. He kept flashing Thrawn quick, mischievous looks that held all kinds of promises about what they would be doing when they left the party.

     And then the pilot who had gone in search of water returned. With a pitcher of ice water filled right to the brim. And since he was unsteady on his feet from being somewhat drunk, it didn’t take much to make him lose his balance entirely and fall, sending the pitcher flying. At first, all attention was focused on the pilot and getting him off the floor. The pilot was absolutely mortified, protesting over and over that he didn’t need help – until he looked at Thrawn. Then he turned pale and looked like he was going to get sick.

     Thrawn was just staring at him, barely blinking. The ice cubes that had landed on his head were slowly melting, making tiny rivulets of water down his face and neck. But that was far from the worst of it. As it turned out, the entire pitcher of water had landed on him, soaking his shirt and pants.

    His already somewhat tight shirt and pants.

    His shirt, which was made of a delicate material that went transparent when wet.

    His shirt and pants, which were clinging to him now far more than they had before.

    “Hot...damn...” one of the pilots who was helping his fallen comrade muttered.

    “You lived with him at the Academy?” Biggs whispered to Tycho, who just nodded as he stared. “And you like men and women both, right?” Biggs added. Tycho just nodded again. “Clearly you never saw him naked,” Biggs continued. “I’m not even into men like that and even I have to admit he’s hot.”

     Tycho just gulped a little and nodded again. “Right...” he muttered, not even entirely sure what he was saying ‘right’ to anymore.

     Thrawn finally reached up and pulled what was left of the ice cubes from his hair, tossing them onto the table to join the few that had already landed there. He dabbed his face and neck dry with a napkin, then pushed away from the table. Several people who were watching the scene murmured their approval of his physique as he turned around. Tycho felt a stab of possessive jealousy go through him when he noticed how people were looking at Thrawn, but then he remembered – there was one person in the room the Chiss was going home with, and it wasn’t any of _them._

     “I’m afraid I have to cut my participation in this celebration short,” Thrawn said to Biggs and Hobbie. “But as you can see, I am currently covered in ice water and am in need of a change of clothes.”

     Hobbie just looked like he didn’t even know how to reply. Biggs tried to stifle a laugh while he waved Thrawn away. “Go on, but be careful, you might not make it to the door looking like that.”

     “I’ll go with him,” Tycho said. When his friends protested, he said, “No, it’s okay, I’m getting sleepy anyway. I’ll make sure he gets out alright.” He paused long enough to hug his friends and give Biggs his hotel address so the other could drop the presents and leftover cake off, then he started working his way through the crowd with Thrawn. They both got more than their share of awkward gropes from strangers, but they made it out the door safely and hailed a speeder cab back to the hotel.

     Tycho was never entirely sure how they managed to just sit there, not touching or looking at or even talking to each other in the speeder, or how they managed to walk through the hotel lobby or ride the lift to their floor without so much as a suggestive glance at each other. But somehow they made it all the way into their suite’s bedroom before doing anything.

    But then, Tycho what happened was explosive.

     Tycho shut the bedroom door behind them and shrugged out of his jacket, and was about to get to work on his belt when Thrawn grabbed him, slammed him into the wall, and kissed him deeply, pressing so close against Tycho that there was absolutely no question about what he wanted. Tycho groaned eagerly and grabbed handfuls of the back of his shirt, tugging before his brain caught up with him and he had the sense to try to unfasten the shirt instead. The material it was made of might have been thin and sheer when wet, but it was tough.

      Thrawn, for his part, didn’t seem to care much about buttons or ties or anything else. Tycho’s shirt was coming off and he didn’t really care how it got that way. He growled a bit as he yanked at Tycho’s shirt, sending the buttons on it flying to who knew where and pushing it most of the way off before bending down to kiss and nip along Tycho’s chest and stomach. Tycho gasped and gave up on Thrawn’s shirt, instead moving his hands to bury them in Thrawn’s hair. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall, barely even noticing as Thrawn tugged his pants and underwear off until the other’s mouth was on him. And damn, was he talented with his mouth. Tycho finally opened his eyes and looked down to watch.

     Thrawn bobbed his head, varying the speed a bit as he worked. He paused at one point to lavish attention on the tip, sucking lightly and flicking his tongue here and here before one more taking Tycho’s entire length into his mouth. Tycho gasped, breath hitching in his throat. He let go of Thrawn’s hair and pressed his hands to the wall behind him for support as he felt his legs starting to get shaky. “Th-thrawn,” he finally moaned. “I’m gonna...”

     But he didn’t get the chance. The moment he spoke. Thrawn stopped and sat back on his heels, smirking up at Tycho. For a few seconds Tycho thought he was going to start again, but when he didn’t the human let out a desperate little whine. “What are you doing?”

     “Dragging things out,” Thrawn said. “For the first time in months we have time, privacy, and soundproof walls. I’m not letting that go so easily.”

     Tycho whined more as Thrawn climbed to his feet and went in search of some lube. It didn’t take him long and he returned moments later, setting the lube down on a nearby table before leaning into give Tycho a tender kiss. Tycho returned it desperately, reaching up to grab Thrawn’s shoulders, but the Chiss pulled away before Tycho could get a good grip. He smirked and backed up enough to give Tycho a good view, then slowly stripped out of his clothes until he was completely naked. Tycho just gulped and bit his lip a little, eyes fixed on Thrawn’s cock. Clearly, seeing it made him just that much more aroused and desperate.

     Thrawn, of course, noticed, and stroked himself a little. “You want this, don’t you?” he asked, his voice low and sultry. Tycho, of course, _did_ want it, but he could only manage a bit of a nod. Thrawn reached for the lube and said, “Turn around and brace yourself against the wall.”

     Tycho complied, kicking his pants out of the way so he wouldn’t trip on them. Thrawn gently helped him out of his shirt, which wound up in its own little pile on the floor, and then he wrapped his arms around Tycho and pressed close against him, making him lean against the wall. He rocked his hips against Tycho, grinding against him a few times before finally pushing into him, slowly and carefully. Tycho let out a soft cry of pleasure and pushed back against him eagerly.

     Thrawn kissed along Tycho’s neck as he moved, each thrust drawing a fresh cry or moan from the other. He used one hand to brace himself against the wall and slowly moved the other down to grasp Tycho’s length. Tycho gasps and tried to thrust against Thrawn’s hand, but no matter how he moved, Thrawn managed to maintain a slow and steady stroking pace. Finally, though, Tycho couldn’t take it any longer, and with a low wail he came over Thrawn’s hand. Thrawn wrapped his arms tightly around Tycho once more and thrust into him a few more times before he too climaxed.

     Tycho went limp in his arms, unable to support himself anymore on shaky legs. Thrawn waited for a few moments to regain his own balance, then picked Tycho up and carried him the short distance to bed. He laid Tycho down and then crawled into bed beside him. As soon as Thrawn was settled, Tycho snuggled close and kissed him. Thrawn chuckled a little and hugged Tycho again as they kissed, holding him as close as possible.

     “Thank you,” Tycho whispered between kissed.

     “For what?” Thrawn asked, pushing a few strands of blonde hair out of his face.

     “For the best birthday I’ve ever had.” Tycho grinned at him and rested his head on Thrawn’s shoulder to sleep. “I love you,” he murmured before finally dozing off.

 

***    ***   ***

 

     Thrawn woke well before Tycho the next morning, and rolled out of bed to order them some breakfast. After their little adventure the night before, he didn’t expect Tycho to be awake for a while, but he was hungry and knew Tycho would be too when he finally got up. With the task of securing food finished, he spent some time relaxing at the table and admiring the view, then turned his attention to checking the day’s holonews.

     He flipped the holo unit on and turned the volume to a level he could hear without bothering Tycho and settled in to watch. A pretty young human reporter was the first to pop up, clearly in the middle of a news report. She seemed tense as she reported the news. “...with reports continuing to roll in that absolutely no contact is possible with anyone on the planet’s surface. Rumors of a wide-spread natural disaster of some sort are running rampant through the expatriate community, though scientists continue to be baffled by the nature of the hypothetical disaster. At this time, we simply do not know what could have happened.”

     Thrawn frowned, but the news switched to another story and the young reporter never said the name of the planet in question. He switched to a few other channels, where reporters were speaking in languages he couldn’t understand, and finally settled on what appeared to be a news channel out of Corellia. “We have received thousands of messages regarding the sudden lack of all communication from Alderaan, which began mysteriously late yesterday afternoon Coruscant time,” the male anchor said. Thrawn felt his stomach twist. Late yesterday afternoon was when Tycho had been talking to his family and their conversation had suddenly been cut short. “At this time there is no official word from any source regarding the situation there, but we promise to keep you updated as the news comes in.”

     Thrawn muted the holo and turned to the suite’s main computer system. From it, he was able to get far enough into the official Fleet command network to start hunting for news of Alderaan, but everything he found was blocked. He couldn’t tell if it was because his rank was too low to access the information or if there was another reason. He scowled at the display and signed out of the system, then took a few deep breaths to force himself to focus.

      “What’s going on?”

      Thrawn nearly jumped out of his seat at the sound of Tycho’s voice. He hadn’t noticed the other come out of the bedroom. For a few moments, his brain scrambled to find some other explanation, any explanation, that would make Tycho relax and go back to bed. He was supposed to return to duty the following day and he needed to rest up after the party the night before. But Thrawn couldn’t lie to Tycho like that. Finally, he turned around and said, “Something has happened on Alderaan but so far nobody really knows what.”

     “What do you mean, something happened to Alderaan?”

     Thrawn turned the volume on the holo up. The Corellian news team was once again reporting on the situation on Alderaan. Tycho sank down on the room’s love seat to watch. Thrawn went back to trying to get into the Fleet network to find more information, but he was stymied at every turn. He wished he had taken the time to learn at least the basics of slicing.

     “Thrawn.”

     He turned to look. Tycho’s voice sounded strained, like he was trying not to cry, and when Thrawn got a good look he noticed that Tycho was trembling. He abandoned his work and rushed over to sit beside Tycho, gently pulling the other close for a hug. Tycho clung to him as he fought back tears. “I went out last night to _party_ ,” he said. “Something happened to my family and I was out _partying_ all night.”

     Thrawn stroked his hair gently. “You didn’t know,” he said. “You had no way to know.”

     “I lost communication with them!” Tycho shouted, slamming his fist in to the nearest thing, which happened to be Thrawn’s upper arm.

     Thrawn winced. Tycho could pack a good punch when he wanted to. But he didn’t move or let go of the human. “You didn’t know,” he repeated. “You said that kind of disruption happens all the time. Why would you think it was anything worse than usual? Maybe whatever happened isn’t that bad, nobody knows what it is yet...”

     “They should be able to figure out a simple communications issue,” Tycho said.

     Thrawn sighed. “...Listen. You stay here. I’m going to get dressed and...go find someone who knows what happened.”

     “I’ll go with you.”

     “And risk us being seen together in the middle of the Fleet offices on Coruscant? I don’t think so.” He kissed Tycho’s forehead, then got up and disappeared into the bedroom. When he returned a few minutes later, he was wearing his uniform and dragging a blanket. He knelt down in front of Tycho and tucked the blanket around him, then took his hands and squeezed them. “I ordered breakfast, it should be here any minute now. Try to watch something other than the news...I know it’s tough but there’s no point in getting yourself worked up over something that might be nothing. I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He kissed Tycho, then rushed out in search of answers.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this will hold you over the weekend! I'm going to a friend's wedding so I might not be able to post new chapters for a few days.

**Chapter 25**

     [So when are you leaving?]

     Thrawn and Tycho were back in the hidden, unused storage room they had been using as their meeting place on board the _Accuser._ It was the only safe place they had left for anything, and this discussion in particular was sensitive. That was why Thrawn had taken the extra precaution of speaking in Cheunh. If somebody did happen to find or record them, figuring out what they said would be difficult.

     [As soon as I can. I have leave schedule for this weekend...I...I’m just not going to come back from it,] Tycho said. He couldn’t even meet Thrawn’s gaze.

      Thrawn reached out and tucked a finger under Tycho’s chin, then gently pushed until Tycho finally looked up into his eyes. [I understand,] he whispered. [I don’t want it to be this way. But I understand.]

     The two had returned to their ship immediately after discovering the truth – the Empire had used a new superweapon called the Death Star to destroy Alderaan. Of course, the Empire blamed the Rebellion, but Tycho didn’t think that made any sense. The Rebellion got a lot of help and support from Alderaan, and had no reason to destroy a largely pacifist planet anyway. Thrawn had agreed, and had further reasoned that the Rebellion was often known to struggle for people and supplies. Even if they wanted to build something that would destroy a planet, he didn’t think they could.

     [You should come with me,] Tycho said.

     Thrawn just shook his head sadly. [You know I can’t.]

     [The thought of my husband serving the people who killed my family makes me sick.]

     [And do you think it fills me with joy?] Thrawn countered. [Tycho, I’m not refusing to go because I love the Empire and want to stay. I’m refusing to go because if I do, the Empire will attack my people.] He sighed. [Maybe if they didn’t have the Death Star...I could warn my people about their fleet, and my people would prepare, and the Imperial ships sent against them would be destroyed. But with this new weapon...they destroyed Alderaan, Tycho. _Alderaan_. Surely someone knew there would be backlash for that, and yet they did it anyway. Do you think they wouldn’t send it against a bunch of planets nobody out here knows or even cares about?]

     Tycho sighed and looked away again. He could see the pure anguish in Thrawn’s eyes, and it was the final straw. He threw his arms around the other and let himself cry, like he hadn’t cried since that night in the hotel when Thrawn returned and confirmed that Alderaan was no more. Thrawn just held him, trying to be the supportive rock Tycho could rely on.

     [I’m not angry at you,] he finally said. [I just don’t know what I’m going to do without you.]

     [I’ll come to you as soon as I can,] Thrawn said, trying to sound confident and reassuring. [I just need to make some arrangements and make sure my people will be safe when I do.]

     They clung tightly to each other for as long as they could manage, but eventually they both knew they had to return to duty or risk someone noticing they were missing. [I have to leave so early tomorrow,] Tycho said. [I signed up to borrow a shuttle and I have to have it out by a certain time or I’ll lose it and have to wait.]

      Thrawn nodded and gave him a small smile. [You can stay with me tonight if you want. I don’t care if we’re caught, I’ll make up a good excuse.]

     Tycho smiled sadly at him. [I would like that.] He followed Thrawn out of their hiding place, figuring that if he could sneak into Thrawn’s room now (and hopefully not get called up to fly) it would be easiest. They had made it safely back to the Star Destroyer’s main corridors and were on their way to Thrawn’s room, trying their best to look like they both just happened to be in the same hall at the same time, when one of the bridge officers appeared in front of them and fixed Thrawn with a steely glare.

      “Is your comm broken, Lieutenant?” he snapped.

      Thrawn just gave him a cool look and waited for a moment. The officer’s carefully-created façade of anger started to crack, and only then did Thrawn reply, “As a matter of fact, I believe it may be. It will call the people I want it to call and it does not do anything else I need it to do. But I thank you for your concern, sir.”

      The officer scowled. “I don’t give a mynock’s wrinkly ass if your comm is broken,” he replied. “But you’re wanted on the bridge and I’m the one who drew the short straw to come and drag you up there, so hurry up.”

     Thrawn balked. “ _Now_?”

     “Yes, now, Force, I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius.” The officer just shook his head and muttered about how the Empire was going downhill, then turned on his heel and stalked off, clearly expecting Thrawn to follow him.

     Thrawn quickly dug in his pocket for an extra key card, which he handed to Tycho. “Just stay in my room,” he muttered, “I’ll come back as soon as I can.” He glanced around to make sure they were alone, then added, [I love you,] before following the angry officer to the bridge. Tycho just sighed and went to Thrawn’s room, where he curled up in the bed while he waited. He had long since packed his things. He had only to stop by and retrieve them from his bunk in the morning.

 

***   ***   ***

 

      Hours later, as the morning alert rang through the ship and the night shift trudged to bed past the just-waking-up day shift, Thrawn sprinted through the halls of the _Accuser_ and used every possible override code he knew to make the various lifts go faster as he raced to the hanger Tycho would be leaving from. When he had realized that he was being pushed into an all-night shift on the bridge, he had used a few moments of down time to check the schedule departures for the morning. To his dismay, Tycho’s shuttle was to be among the first to leave. And the Captain in charge had kept Thrawn on the bridge until the last possible moment.

      Finally, the lift deposited him at the appropriate level, and Thrawn dashed off down the corridor, glancing at the designations marked on walls and doors around him, hunting for the proper hangar bay. He had to stop and ask a pair of pilots just coming on duty for directions. They were confused, but pointed him the right way, and Thrawn was off again.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho hung around in Thrawn’s quarters as long as he could, watching the last few minutes ticking own on Thrawn’s bedside alarm clock. He had set the clock to wake him up in time to go get his things, assuming that Thrawn would return before then, but it seemed that Thrawn hadn’t returned all night. Tycho choked back his tears and did his best to compose himself, though he knew nobody on the ship would question it if he seemed a bit out of sorts. Almost everyone had pinpointed the Alderaanian crew members by now and most people were quite tolerant of odd, weepy behavior from them, but Tycho didn’t want to draw any attention to himself if he could avoid it. Still, as he watched the clock tick down, he couldn’t help but hope Thrawn would show up...

      ...but he didn’t. Tycho sighed and turned the alarm off before it could sound, then rolled out of Thrawn’s bed and carefully slipped from the room. He didn’t dare leave a note. What if someone came along and found it? Thrawn could get in trouble. He didn’t want that at all. Tycho made his way back to his bunk in the pilots’ quarters, gathered up his one piece of luggage (he would have brought more but it would have attracted attention since his leave was only for the weekend), and headed for the hangar bay he was to leave from.

     Along the way, he decided he couldn’t be mad at Thrawn. Upset, sure, but that was different from mad. He remembered that officer from the night before. More than likely, any attempt Thrawn could have made to leave the bridge would have been met with hostility at best. Tycho nodded to himself. Yes, that was it. Thrawn would have gotten away if he could have, but he couldn’t. Tycho assumed that the entire Fleet was on high alert now, given the destruction of Alderaan and the impending backlash.

      He climbed aboard the borrowed shuttle and tossed his bag in the back, then set the boarding ramp to close behind him and headed for the cockpit to finish his final pre-flight checks and get his official take-off clearance. Since he was one of the first shuttles out that day, clearance came quickly. And then his checks were finally done, and he had to leave. He took a quick look out the viewport, but when he didn’t see Thrawn, he carefully lifted the shuttle off the hangar bay floor and retracted the landing gear.

     Thrawn arrived just in time to see the shuttle lifting off, and he felt his heart leap into his throat. That was Tycho’s shuttle. He could clearly see the pilot in the cockpit, and it was definitely Tycho. But there was nothing he could do now. Tycho was committed. There wasn’t going to be any landing to come say goodbye. If he was taking off, it meant he had clearance to leave, and he couldn’t just toss it aside without causing all kinds of problems. So instead, he just stood there, looking around casually as though looking for anyone but Tycho in the shuttle.

     But he kept glancing at the shuttle cockpit, just in case Tycho saw him. Just in case he had a chance at one last bit of eye contact before Tycho left forever.

      Tycho felt like someone was watching him, so before turning the shuttle around to take off, he glanced out the viewport one more time, and choked. There, standing right in the hangar bay entrance, looking around as though he had no idea who was in the shuttle, was Thrawn. Tycho gave serious consideration to screwing his flight window and any sense of Imperial decorum, landing the shuttle, and rushing out to give Thrawn a kiss goodbye, but he didn’t dare. Instead, he just waited...and then...Thrawn turned his head just enough to look right at him.

     For a moment, their eyes met, and a jolt ran through Tycho. He felt like everything they had ever wanted to say to each other, everything they never would get to say, was being passed between them in that moment. He took a deep breath, then slowly raised his hand in a small wave. Thrawn just nodded to him, then broke their shared gaze and went back to looking around the hangar. Tycho gulped and steered his shuttle through the magnetic shield keeping the atmosphere in place and on its course to the planet below.

     Back in the hangar, one of the techs came over to check on Thrawn. “You look a bit lost, Lieutenant, we don’t usually get your kind down here all random-like. Lookin’ for anythin’ in particular?”

     Thrawn shook his head slowly. “I was looking for someone, but he is not here. Thank you for asking though.” And with that, he turned and slowly made his way back through the ship to his quarters, where he collapsed on his bed and fell into a deep, sleep, filled with dreams of a galaxy where Alderaan had never been destroyed and he and Tycho never had to hide their love from anyone.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparently I'm still horrible at uploading. Ugh. I need to put an alarm on my phone to remind me or something. In other news, remember that thing way back near the beginning of the story where Thrawn was telling Tycho and his friends about that incident with Ar'alani? Sure you do, if you've gotten this far! Anyway, I actually wrote about it. And posted the story. (No, that's not what kept me from posting this chapter. I wrote that story ages ago and just didn't get around to publishing it until now. I'm a slowpoke.) So if you want some smut involving Thrawn and Ar'alani, go read it! :p SO, on to Chapter 26.

**Chapter 26 – about 7 years later**

 

     Tycho looked up and frowned at his door. Someone was _knocking_. That _never_ happened. If his guard wanted to come in that badly he (or she, Tycho had no idea who was on duty now) had a key. And guests weren’t usually allowed. But he got up off the makeshift couch that graced his makeshift apartment’s living room and went to open the door.

     His guard was standing off to the side, scowling a little and looking none too pleased with what was going on. But right in front of the door stood a gorgeous woman, and Tycho was suddenly sure he knew why this guest hadn’t been turned away. Nobody would turn away Princess Leia Organa’s personal aide.

     “Winter,” he said, “this is a surprise. What brings you all the way down here?”

     The white-haired woman shrugged. “Can’t an Alderaanian visit a fellow Alderaanian when she had a few minutes of free time?”

     Tycho grinned and stepped aside to let her in. The guard scowled even more than that, but since Tycho wasn’t technically doing anything wrong, he couldn’t do anything about it. Once Winter was inside, Tycho shut the door behind her. “I would offer you a drink but I don’t have much fancy down here,” he said. “Hazards of...well, you know.”

     Winter nodded gravely and sat on one end of Tycho’s couch. “You and I both know this won’t last forever,” she said.

     “Maybe you know it. I’m kind of settling for hope right now,” Tycho replied, sitting on the other end of the couch.

     She reached out and gently took his hand. “I do know it, because someday everyone who doesn’t trust you now is going to see how ridiculous they have been and how valuable and wonderful you really are, and they’re going to wonder how they could have ever thought so poorly of you.”

     Tycho pondered her words and nodded a little. “Well, there’s so much to do before then anyway...”

     “Your mission?”

     “Now how did you know about that?”

     Winter shrugged. “Word gets around and I _do_ work with Princess Organa. It would be hard not to notice the details, or to put two and two together.”

     “You know I can’t give you details,” Tycho said. “I don’t even know all of them myself.”

     “And I didn’t expect you to,” she said. “That’s hardly why I’m here. I wanted to ask you something.”

      Tycho grinned. “So ask.”

     “After this mission, when you come back, I want to take you out somewhere. To celebrate.”

     He took a deep breath and stared at her, studying her closely. Deep down inside, he knew this was an opportunity almost any other man would jump at. _He_ was nearly jumping at it. Winter was gorgeous and intelligent, cultured, brave, loyal...and Alderaanian. There were things about him and his life that she could understand the way nobody else could. The possibilities a life with her in it presented flashed before his eyes. This was hardly the first time they had skirted around the issue, exchanging words and actions that came dangerous close to outright flirtations. But it was the first time either one had been so direct with the other. It was the first time Tycho had really bothered to consider what could be, if he surrendered and went for it.

     _Besides, there’s probably some obscure Chiss law that says if we haven’t seen each other in years, we’re not married anymore. But...but do I really want to take that chance?_

     “Are you asking me as a friend or as a potential romantic interest?” he finally asked.

     “What makes you think there’s anything ‘potential’ about it?” she countered.

     Tycho sighed and shook his head, giving her a small, sad smile. “I’m flattered, Winter, really,” he said. _Man, I’m going to be kicking myself over this for years to come._ “But I’m actually already involved with someone and, well, it just...wouldn’t seem right to get involved with you too.”

     Winter seemed shocked, which gave Tycho a bit of comfort. If even she hadn’t been able to find information on his relationship with Thrawn, that was a good sign. “I...had no idea,” she finally said. “So who’s the lucky lady?”

     “Nobody you would know,” Tycho said, giving her hand a quick pat. _And we’re going to keep it that way._ “I’m sorry, I really am...I never meant to lead you on or anything.”

     “You didn’t.” She laughed. “We don’t get to see each other much, of course I would miss things.”

     Tycho smiled. “So we can still be friends, right? Get together and drink bad imitation Alderaanian wine and remember the good old days?”

    “Of course we can. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn took another sip from his glass of fine Alderaanian wine, then set it down and peered at the man across the table from him. Captain Gilad Pellaeon. “Wherever did you manage to find this wine?”

    Pellaeon shrugged. “Someone gave it to me ages ago and I never drank. I’m more of a Whiren’s man myself, thought you might like something a little more refined though.”

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “While I do appreciate the delicacy and subtlety of Alderaanian wine, lately I find myself preferring a strong Forvish ale.”

      “Forvish ale?” Pellaeon repeated. “I’ll keep that in mind next time we travel back towards the Core, sir. I don’t think we can get it out here.”

     “You can’t,” Thrawn said. “Though there are similar beverages.”  
     Pellaeon just nodded. “And when will we be returning to the Core, sir?”

     Thrawn sipped his wine again and turned to look out the viewport. He knew that the C _himaera’s_ crew was getting antsy, being all the way out here, so far from everything they knew and understood. Even the star charts were unfamiliar to them. But to Thrawn, they were the familiar and comforting sights of home. He couldn’t see the star his home world circled from here, but he could see many of the stars that pointed the way, and in the spaces between them he could mentally fill in all the places he already knew: _Csilla... Crustai... Sarvchi... Naporar... Copero..._ All the places he had visited, the places he had wanted to go with Tycho someday.

     Had Tycho been here, he would have thought this little dinner was terribly romantic.

     Actually, he kind of got that feeling from it even though Tycho was light years away and hadn’t been with him since Alderaan had been destroyed.

      He glanced back at the human captain, waiting patiently for his answer. He strongly suspected that Pellaeon had a hidden motive for holding this dinner here, with just the two of them. Thrawn had to admit that he had grown fond of the man since coming to the _Chimaera_. He was loyal and seemed intelligent enough. He was a bit more gruff than Tycho, but was refined in his own way. He was older than Thrawn usually preferred too, but that came with certain perks. Like an air of dignity. And experience.

     Thrawn’s mind took the experience idea and ran with it, imagining all of the many ways in which Pellaeon was experienced. He was rumored to have quite the way with women... _Stop that. Why are you even considering these things? You still love Tycho. Sure, it’s been seven years...Oh. That really is a long time to be away from someone...no wonder you’re so damn desperate. You’re even starting to interpret this dinner as a_ date. _Enough of that. Pellaeon is your Captain and you are the Grand Admiral and he asked a question that you need to answer._

     “Soon,” he finally said. “I have a few more things to finish here, and then we can return. I trust you and the crew will find this arrangement acceptable?”

      “Of course, sir,” Pellaeon said. Thrawn could have sworn he caught a mischievous twinkle in the other’s eye, but he pushed the idea aside. Surely he was just seeing things. His mind – and body – were just playing tricks on him.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Over the next few weeks, Thrawn tried to pay special attention to how Pellaeon acted around him. He was looking for cues in the man’s behavior that might help him understand what was going on and make sense of his own feelings. Of course, he found plenty of cues. Pellaeon stood just a hair too close to him. Pellaeon always managed to get the seat closest to Thrawn’s at meals. Pellaeon seemed to worry about his appearance around the Admiral, as he regularly adjusted his uniform to make sure there wasn’t so much as a thread out of place. Thrawn tried to explain it all away, but there was always that quiet little voice in the back of his head trying to convince him that Pellaeon’s feelings went beyond those of a typical Captain for his superior officer.

      The other little voice in the back of his head reminded him, constantly, that he wouldn’t mind that kind of attention from someone like Pellaeon.

     And then of course he just felt guilty, because of course he was still married to Tycho, and he was quite sure he still loved the Alderaanian. But then the voices would whisper about how it had been so long since he had seen Tycho, so long since he had experienced the pleasures of another being’s touch beyond formal handshakes, so long since his more carnal needs had been met with the help of another being. And then Thrawn would struggle with feelings of guilt and shame on the one hand and secret desire on the other, trying to decide which side would win out – the one that said he should move on and forget about Tycho, or the side that said he could never break his vows for as long as both he and Tycho lived and they never formally dissolved their union.

     But he had bigger things to worry about. The time had finally come for them to make a brief return to the Core, and for the past two days they had been travelling steadily towards the Core. Almost as soon as they passed into the area known as the Inner Rim, they heard the shocking news that a battle for Coruscant was under way. Thrawn had ordered his crew to maintain a steady speed and course, because no matter what they did there was no way they could get to Coruscant in time to help. They would, however, be keeping a close watch on the situation.

     And Thrawn would be keeping a close eye on Pellaeon.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

     _The observation room was comfortably warm, and the couch he sat on was far more plush than he ever remembered it being in real life, but Thrawn didn’t think about that. He just kept his eyes fixed on the scene beyond the transparisteel wall separating him from the icy coldness of Csilla. The sky was slowly turning from black to deep blue as sunrise approached, and he could just make out the shapes of the hills and snow drifts. It looked different from what he remembered, but then, the snow drifts were always moving, so that was no surprise. The icicles dangling from the observation room’s roof, just outside the wall, were a nice touch though._

_The door behind him opened, and Thrawn turned to see Tycho enter. For some reason, he was dressed in his white and silver wedding outfit, and he grinned at Thrawn. “Beat me here again,” he said. “Next time I’ll get here first.”_

_“I would love to see you try,” Thrawn teased. He rolled off the couch and went to meet Tycho, pulling him into a warm embrace and kissing him tenderly. “Come watch the sunrise with me.”_

_“Of course.” Tycho said. He took Thrawn’s hand and followed him back to the couch, where they both curled up together._

_“Remember the first time I brought you up here?” Thrawn asked._

_Tycho nodded. “We were fighting because of a_ girl _, of all things. How is Ar’alani anyway?”_

_“Oh, she’s busy as always.” Thrawn frowned a little. He couldn’t think of the details of Ar’alani’s current health or whereabouts, which bothered him a little, but he pushed those concerns out of his mind. “It’s going to be gorgeous this morning, there’s not a cloud out there.”_

_“Can’t wait,” Tycho said. He grinned and kissed Thrawn’s chin, which just made Thrawn tilt his head down towards Tycho for more kisses. Before he knew what was happening, as though it happened instantly, Tycho was in his lap, kissing him and grinding against him. Thrawn moaned and grabbed Tycho’s rear, urging him on._

_“Tycho...”_

_Tycho grinned at him. “Sir?”_

_Thrawn frowned up at him. “What did you just call me?”_

_“Sir?” Tycho said again._

_“Tycho, you never call me that, what’s going on?”_

_Tycho’s lips moved, but the voice that came out of them wasn’t his. “Sir, are you alright?”_

     The scene dissolved as Thrawn struggled back to consciousness and opened his eyes. Gilad Pellaeon was leaning close, studying Thrawn with an intensely worried look on his face. “Are you alright, sir?” he asked again.

     Thrawn sighed and rubbed at his face with one hand, then nodded. “Yes Captain, I’m fine, thank you.”

     “Are you sure? You were moaning.”

     Thrawn fought the blush that threatened to appear on his cheeks. “Are you always silent in your sleep?” he asked.

     “Probably not, sir,” Pellaeon replied. He straightened up and stepped back to a more respectful distance, though he still looked worried. “It’s just...I don’t usually find you asleep here.”

     “Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Thrawn said dryly. “I assume you have a report for me?”

      Pellaeon nodded. “Sir, Coruscant has fallen,” he said.

     “Really?”

     “Yes sir. There were casualties on both sides, of course.”

     Thrawn fought the urge to grip his command chair’s armrests. He knew that Rogue Squadron – Tycho’s squadron – had been involved in the battle. Or at least, he assumed they had been, since evidence indicated they had been on the planet for a while before the battle. “Any reports on who the Rebellion lost?” he asked.

     “Corran Horn,” Pellaeon replied. “He seems to be the only big name so far.”

     Thrawn nodded and let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. “I see.” Rogue Squadron was big and famous enough that if anyone else from the squadron had been killed, it would be known by now.

     “They said Tycho Celchu has been arrested for his murder,” Pellaeon added.

     That news caught Thrawn by surprise, and it wasn’t until he spoke that he realized he had been staring at Pellaeon with his mouth open in surprise. “Celchu? That doesn’t make any sense.”

     Pellaeon shrugged. “Word is they suspect him of being a Lusankya operative.”

     Well, that did make _some_ sense, since Tycho had once been a prisoner there. But privately, Thrawn still thought there was no way Tycho was a Lusankya operative. He was too strong to succumb to anything like that, at least in Thrawn’s opinion. “Very well then,” Thrawn said. “Thank you for your report, Captain.”

     Pellaeon didn’t move. “Aren’t we going to do anything about it?” he asked.

      Thrawn raised an eyebrow at him. “Do anything about what?” he asked. “I do not believe that an attack on Coruscant is prudent at this time.”

     “But the Rebels –“

     “Will fight tooth and nail to keep what they just took. No, Captain, we will continue our push to the Core, but at this time I see no good that will come from interfering.”

     At first, it looked like Pellaeon was going to argue, but he just nodded. “Of course, sir. If you’ll excuse me, I should return to the bridge.”

     “By all means,” Thrawn replied. Pellaeon gave him a stiff bow, then turned to leave. Thrawn watched him go. The Corellian captain was older than Thrawn usually preferred in a partner, but he had to admit that Pellaeon was attractive. But he was also an Imperial, and even if Thrawn hadn’t seen Tycho in seven years they _were_ still married.

     _There’s no harm in looking though, right? A Chiss has needs._ Thrawn glanced around his secondary command room to make sure everything was in order, then shut down the repeater displays around his chair and retired to the more private section of his quarters for the night. Perhaps, if he concentrated hard enough before bed, that dream would pick up again and he would get to see how it ended...

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Wedge sighed and raked his hands back through his hair. “You’re kidding me,” he said to Nawara Ven. “What do they want to do that for?”

     Nawara shrugged. “Evidence, I suppose.”

     “Looking for something that isn’t there.”

     The Twi’lek pilot sighed. “Clearly, they think something is there, or they wouldn’t have been able to get a warrant to search his things.”

     “You’ll be allowed to search too, right?” Tycho asked.

      Both Nawara and Wedge turned to look at Tycho, sitting across the table from them, wrists and ankles firmly secured with stun cuffs. Though he had reassured Wedge that the guards were treating him well here, he looked a bit worse for wear, like he hadn’t been sleeping or eating enough. The most recent news had just demoralized him even more.

     Nawara had organized a meeting with Wedge and Tycho to tell them that the tribunal in charge of Tycho’s trial had authorized the issuing of a warrant that would allow Commander Ettyk, the prosecution’s representative, to search through Tycho’s personal belongings for evidence of Imperial entanglements. Fortunately the warrant included Nawara too, so he nodded in response to Tycho’s question. “Yes. I’m sorry, Tycho, I don’t want to do this, but I can’t let Ettyk do it herself. I need to know what she’s looking at too.”

     Tycho sighed and gave a resigned nod. “Of course. I understand. ...Am I allowed to request a representative to watch and make sure nothing is damaged, though? It’s not like I have a lot and none of it is really valuable, but...”

     “I’ll ask the tribunal,” Nawara said. “I think it’s a reasonable enough request.”

     Tycho nodded again. “Thank you,” he said. “If it’s possible, could it be Wedge or Gavin?”

     “I doubt I can get them to agree to that much, but I’ll try,” Nawara said.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Just as he promised, Nawara approached the tribunal and Commander Ettyk with Tycho’s request. It was an epic argument, with Ettyk arguing that having observers ran the risk of contaminating evidence and Nawara arguing in turn that the observers wouldn’t even be touching the items being searched. Their entire purpose would be to make sure that the people who _were_ touching the potential evidence were doing so in a respectful manner. Ultimately, they agreed that two observers would be present: Wedge Antilles, representing Tycho’s interests, and Iella Wessiri, representing the prosecution. It was further agreed that the members of the search team would be picked randomly from a variety of sources. Every single one of the Rogues personally went to the tribunal to volunteer. In the end, Gavin Darklighter was the only Rogue selected through the randomized process the tribunal used to decide who would participate, but the news that Wedge, Gavin, and Nawara would all be involved was some comfort to Tycho.

     Wedge too was pleased with the outcome, and on the appointed day he took extra time making sure he was neat and presentable before making his way to Tycho’s quarters. By the time he arrived, Nawara, Commander Ettyk, Iella, and a security guard were already there. Gavin and the other searchers arrived a few minutes later. When the team was finally assembled, the guard let them all in, then positioned herself outside the door. She would wait for them to finish before locking up and would make sure nobody left without checking out and that nobody else entered while the search was in progress.

     Wedge wandered around Tycho’s tiny living space, keeping an eye on the various searchers as they went through Tycho’s things. He still wasn’t pleased with the situation. Besides, what did they expect to find? Wedge firmly believed that Tycho was innocent and had nothing to hide. They weren’t going to find anything in here.

     “Wedge,” Gavin said softly.

     The sound made Wedge jump a little. He had gotten so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed Gavin approaching. “Yeah, what is it?” he said.

     Gavin motioned for Wedge to follow him into the small bedroom, where he had set out the contents of Tycho’s closet on the bed. Most of it was just clothing. A few small boxes of various sizes and shapes had been opened to reveal a collection of trinkets, items that were meaningless to anyone but Tycho. But there was one black box, larger than the others, with a slot for a key card at the top. “I can’t open it,” Gavin said. “What should I do with it?”

     “Hang on.” Wedge went out to the guard at the door, and she handed over all of the access cards she had been given before coming to Tycho’s apartment that morning. Wedge let her keep the one that opened the main door, then went back to the bedroom and began trying cards in the box. He finally found the one that opened it and stepped back to let Gavin examine the contents.

     After a few moments of searching, Gavin gasped. “You should see this,” he said.

     Wedge stepped back to the bed and leaned over to look at what Gavin was holding. He had a holo of Tycho and a blue-skinned, red-eyed man, both of them dressed in Imperial uniforms. “I wonder who that is,” Wedge said.

     Gavin handed him the holo and started going through the others. “Well, whoever he was, they were close,” he said.

     “What makes you say that?”

     “This picture of them all dressed up and kissing like their lives depend on it, for starters.”

     “What?” Wedge snatched the holo from Gavin’s hand and stared at it. Sure enough, it was just what Gavin said it was. “That’s just –“

     “What are you _doing_?”

     Both men looked up to see Commaner Ettyk standing in the doorway, looking absolutely furious. “You’re here to _observe_ , Commander Antilles.”

     “And I’m observing,” Wedge replied coolly. “I’m observing the contents of this box.”

     The prosecution’s lawyer stalked over to see what was so interesting. The moment she got a look at the holos, she took them from Wedge and Gavin and studied them. “How...interesting.”

     “This doesn’t prove a thing,” Wedge said.

     “It proves that Celchu was romantically involved with someone who is now an Imperial Grand Admiral,” Ettyk said. “This looks an awful lot like a wedding, doesn’t it?” she added, holding a few holos out for Wedge to see.

     “So what if it is?” he asked, but deep inside, he knew the answer to that question. If Tycho was married to a Grand Admiral, at the very least it meant he had been lying to them all along about something. After all, he had never once even mentioned a relationship with anyone to Wedge, and had probably never talked to anyone else about it either.

     This didn’t look good at all.

     “You _do_ plan on letting _me_ get a look at this new evidence, right?” Nawara asked from the doorway. “I have the right to know what my client is being accused of, after all.”

     “Same thing as always, counselor,” Ettyk said. “High treason. Only it just got a little higher.” She handed Nawara the pictures and left the room. “I expect those holos and the box they came in to be on my desk by the morning,” she said over her shoulder.

     “We have to talk to Tycho about this,” Wedge said. “This is ridiculous. What would possess him to hide something like this from us? Is he _trying_ to get himself executed?”

     Nawara grabbed Wedge’s arm. “We can’t just go marching in there demanding answers from him.”

     “But –“

     “No buts, not if you want a chance at winning this case. Let me talk to Ackbar again. It won’t take long. And give me those holos.” Nawara gathered the box, its contents, and its access card and dashed off.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     By the time Nawara returned with the news that Ackbar would let him take the holos and question Tycho about them first, Wedge was furious and insisted on going with him. Nawara tried to argue him out of it, but it was no good. Wedge was mad and felt betrayed, and he wanted answers from the only person who could provide them.

     Tycho, meanwhile, had been waiting for news of how the search went and taking comfort in the fact that three people he trusted would be helping with it. But that calm feeling vanished the moment a clearly enraged Wedge Antilles stormed into the prison’s interrogation room where Tycho waited, a grim Nawara following behind with a black box clutched in his hands. Nawara set the box on the table before Tycho while Wedge paced around the side of the room he was allowed to move in, looking very much like a caged animal.

     “Something wrong?” Tycho asked, watching Wedge’s movements.

     Finally, Wedge stopped and returned to the table, leaning on it directly across from Tycho. He refused to look at the other man. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he finally asked, his voice showing clear signs of strain.

     “...Tell you what?”

     Wedge slammed his fist into the table. “ _Do not_ treat me like an idiot, Tycho,” he snarled. “I’ve been sticking my neck out for you all this time and all this time you’ve been hiding things from me? What in the name of the Force did I do to deserve that?”

      “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. But his eyes darted to the box, then to Wedge and Nawara. He knew what they were talking about, all right. But he wanted to know how much they knew before telling them the whole story.

     “ _Yes you do,”_ Wedge snarled. “And I’m starting to wonder if maybe Corran was right about you, not because of the kriffing Lusankya, but because of what you’re not telling me, what you’ve _never_ told me.”

     Tycho leaned back a bit as though trying to get away from Wedge. He rarely heard the other swear, and it was as good a sign as any that he had screwed up beyond all repair. “Wedge...”

     Nawara held up a hand to stall any other comments from either Tycho or Wedge, and turned his attention to the box. He pulled a key card out of his pocket and slid it through a slit on top of the box, which allowed him to open it and begin removing things from it. He laid each item on the table carefully, almost reverently, before finally folding his hands on the table in front of him and taking a deep breath. “You have no idea how hard I had to fight to convince Ackbar and the others to let me bring these things here and ask you for your side of the story privately, before you get put on the stand and asked to spill your deepest secrets publically. But this really doesn’t look good for you, especially since Ackbar and Madine know very well who this man is.” Nawara flipped open a file and indicated a holo inside of it.

     Tycho leaned forward to look, and felt his chest tighten as a lump rose in his throat. Nawara was indicating a holo that had been taken what felt like a lifetime ago, during the first visit he had made to Alderaan with Thrawn. In it, Tycho and Thrawn posed with the entire Celchu family for their annual Life Day portrait. Thrawn and Tycho stood close together, partially embracing but partially facing the camera, both clearly ecstatic about something.

     “Tycho,” Nawara’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Look at the rest of them.” He began sorting the other holos and flat photos in the file. Tycho recognized them all. Himself and Thrawn at their Academy graduations. Another Life Day family portrait. Several photos from their wedding, including his favorite, a close-up of them kissing at the moment they were officially married. “There’s no way to explain this away,” Nawara said. “I don’t even really know what’s going on here, but...”

      “It’s my wedding,” Tycho said, nodding to the last of the photos. “We were married on his home planet so his brother could be there, and so we could keep it secret. Had anyone found out we were married, it would have meant the end of my career and maybe of his too. The Empire doesn’t exactly support relationships between humans and non-humans, you know.” He reached out, the shackles on his hands forcing him to reach with both, and picked up the photo of him kissing Thrawn. “I loved him more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life, and more than I ever will love anyone, and I would give anything to see him again.”

     “When was the last time you saw him?” Wedge asked.

     “The day I defected, about seven years ago” Tycho said. “I wanted him to come with me, but he couldn’t because if he did, it would put his people in danger. The Death Star still existed, you know, so the danger was real. We had to be so careful to make sure nobody suspected a thing about us, especially once we were placed on active duty.” He snorted. “Obviously they either never suspected Thrawn and I were involved or someone did suspect and he talked his way out of it, because he’s a Grand Admiral now. And before you ask, that’s public knowledge. It’s all over the holonews if you know where to look.”

     Wedge sighed and threw himself into the other chair across from Tycho, raking his hands back through his already wild hair before resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together in front of his face. He just stared at the things that had come out of the box, at the holos and photos, the pile of hand-written letters in Thrawn’s incredibly perfect handwriting, the little trinkets that were all Tycho had to remember the love of his life. “Why didn’t you just tell me?” he finally said.

     “Lusankya,” Tycho replied. “Nobody trusts me as it is, Wedge, do you think it would _help_ if everyone had known about this from the beginning?”

     “Well it’s not going to help now,” Wedge replied. “It’s going to look like you were hiding your Imperial connection.”

     “I know you were just trying to protect yourself and your husband,” Nawara agreed, “but it  would have been much better in the long run if you had been open about it. You’re hardly the first person in the Republic to be married to an Imperial.”

     “No, but I’ll bet you all the money legally in my accounts that I’m the only one married to a Grand Admiral,” Tycho replied.

     Wedge shook his head and held his hands out as though to stop something from running into him. “What could you possibly see in him?” he asked. “The man is ruthless. He’s our enemy.”

     “That’s what you see,” Tycho said. “That’s not what he is. He is out here because if he isn’t, that will trigger an Imperial attack on his people. Trillions of beings who have nothing to do with us and have never harmed so much as a hair on the head of a single Imperial or Rebel or anyone else will be in danger if he stops serving the Empire.” He sighed. “Look, I’m not going to say he hasn’t changed. I haven’t contacted him or seen him in person in years, I don’t know what’s going on in his head anymore. But the man I met was intelligent and cultured, kind, passionate, struggling against the great sorrow of being separated from everything he knew and loved. He saw Alderaan as a second home and we had hoped to go back and make a home there someday, maybe raise a family or something. He loved my parents and my siblings and they loved him too. We both risked so much for the chance to be together. ”

     Wedge blinked down at the holos, finally picking one up himself. He studied it. The holo showed Tycho and Thrawn on their wedding, surrounded by Tycho’s family, Thrawn’s brother, and the officers from Thrawn’s former command who had come to stand with him at the ceremony. It occurred to Wedge that he didn’t know much about Tycho’s family at all, aside from their names. But of course that was just for the human family. He had to admit that, as unhappy as he was that Tycho hadn’t trusted him enough to admit to his secret marriage, the sheer willpower it must have taken to hide that for so long was astounding and Wedge admired it.

     “...you don’t think he would be able to help exonerate Tycho, do you?” he finally asked Nawara.

     The Twi’lek shrugged. “Even if he could, what difference does it make? No Grand Admiral in his right mind would come to Alliance-occupied Coruscant and testify in court on behalf of a man who defected years ago.”

     “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Wedge sighed and dropped the holo. “Well. We need you to work some legal magic, then, Nawara. How can we spin this to look less bad?”


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Thrawn groaned a little as he settled into the command chair built into his private secondary command room. He had been so stiff and sore the past few days. Staying awake late to catch up on news of Tycho’s trial only meant that he didn’t get enough sleep, and when he did sleep, his head was filled with awful nightmares of the outcome if Tycho was found guilty. Every day, he tried to find a way around the fact that if he left, the Empire would automatically go to attack his people. Was it worth it? At least with the Death Star no longer in the picture, his people stood a fighting chance, but fighting meant some would die and he wasn’t sure if he could live with so many of his own peoples’ lives on his conscience. His entire reason for being here was to protect them.

     “Sir?”

    Thrawn opened his eyes (he hadn’t even realized they were closed) and blinked at Gilad Pellaeon, who had appeared as though from nowhere and was now standing as close as he could possibly come to Thrawn’s command chair without completely breaking the rules of propriety. “Yes Captain?” Thrawn said.

     “Are you alright, sir? You seem a little tense.”

     “I am tense,” he said. “I have a lot on my mind.”

     Pellaeon just nodded, then said, “Perhaps I could help with that. I’m very good with my hands, you know.”

     Thrawn tried not to give away all of the thoughts that went bouncing through his head at those words. He was certain Pellaeon was just making an innocent offer. If Pellaeon was a Chiss and they were in Chiss space, he might think differently, but Pellaeon wasn’t and they weren’t and the human captain didn’t seem like the type to risk throwing his career away by getting involved with someone who was both not human and his superior officer. Thrawn may have been fighting back fantasies involving Pellaeon for months now, but he just couldn’t bring himself to believe that the older man was having similar thoughts.

     Besides, he was sure Pellaeon’s reputation for having a way with the ladies didn’t just pop up from the vacuum of space for no reason.

     He finally nodded and shifted so Pellaeon could reach his shoulders. “I believe the worst of it can be found there,” he said. “If you don’t mind, Captain.”

     Pellaeon didn’t say a word as he began working at the Admiral’s shoulders, and after a few uneasy minutes, Thrawn finally just closed his eyes and let himself enjoy it. He had to admit that it felt good, having someone he actually knew rub his shoulders like that. He had had plenty of anonymous massages from trained professionals during his time on Coruscant, before leaving the court to go to the Outer Rim, but this was so much better. He might not have known Pellaeon for more than a few months, but that time had clearly been enough for them to get a decent read on each other’s personalities, and it showed in the way Pellaeon worked and responded to Thrawn’s reactions. After a little while, he stopped focusing just on Thrawn’s shoulders and works his way as far down Thrawn’s back as he could reach, then down his arms to his elbows, and he even got just bold enough to let his hands skim the front of Thrawn’s shoulders. Thrawn just let it go for as long as he dared, fighting back the little moans and groans that threatened to emerge every time Pellaeon worked out a particularly bad knot or found a particularly nice spot to massage.

     “Thank you, Captain,” he finally said when he decided they had pushed the boundaries of their relationship far enough for one day. “I feel much better now.”

     “Glad to hear it, sir,” Pellaeon said. “Sir, it seems to me that you could use some down time.”

     “Maybe someday,” he said. “But not now. Too much to be done.”

 

***   ***   ***

     The knock on his door dragged him out of a sound sleep, and Wedge rubbed at his eyes before squinting at the door. He could just make out two blurry figures standing there, waiting patiently for him to acknowledge them. “Er,” he said eloquently.

     “Can we talk to you or do you need more nap time?” Wes’s voice said from the door.

     Wedge sighed. He should have known than, sooner or later, word would spread and his friends would come looking for him. In all honesty, he had been hoping to avoid them for a little longer, so he could better gather his thoughts about Tycho and that mysterious Imperial husband of his. But he also wasn’t about to turn his friends away now, so he nodded and motioned for them to sit down on the mismatched chairs on the other side of his desk. “Come in.”

     Wes Janson and Hobbie Klivian shut the door to Wedge’s office behind him and sat down, Hobbie looking a bit stiff and Wes allowing himself to flop every which way. But they both regarded their old friend with the same concerned look. “How are you holding up?” Hobbie finally asked.

     “I don’t really know anymore,” Wedge said.

     “We heard about the Great Blue Bombshell,” Wes said. When Wedge just looked confused, he added, “You know, Tycho’s blue humanoid Imperial Grand Admiral super-secret spouse.”

     “Right, him,” Wedge said tersely. “Wait, how did you even find out about that?”

     Hobbie said, “Right after we got here, we went to see him. He seemed pretty upset about something, and it took a little work, but we finally got him to tell us what was going on.”

     “What does he have to be upset about?” Wedge asked, scowling at them. “I’m the one he lied to for all these years. He lied to all of us, actually. What else has he been lying about?”

     “My guess? Just that,” Hobbie said. Wedge opened his mouth to protest, but Hobbie just held up a hand to stall his comment and said, “Look, Wedge, the Empire frowns on a lot of things, and human/non-human relations are a big one. People have lost their jobs for it, and those are the ones who got off lucky. So yeah, you’re right, Tycho was keeping a secret, from everyone – including his old Imperial superiors.”

     “But why wouldn’t he just tell me?” Wedge said.

     “Wedge, think about it,” Wes said. “Pretend you married Mon Mothma in secret and then defected to the Empire, would you ever tell any of them you had ever even met her in person, let alone married her?”

     Wedge shook his head. Of course he wouldn’t, that would be stupid. “No, but...”

     “Why is this different?” Wes asked. “Because it’s you he didn’t tell?”

     “Because he’s already on trial for treason and this just makes it look worse,” Wedge said.

     His friends couldn’t argue with that. Wedge, after all, was right. The three of them just sat in silence for a moment, then Wedge finally added, “Hobbie, you knew him in the Empire didn’t you? Did you know about this?”

     Hobbie hesitated. “No...I had my suspicions though.” Wedge clenched his jaw a little and Hobbie continued, “The last time I saw Tycho in the Empire was on his twenty-first birthday, the night Alderaan was destroyed. Biggs and me hosted this massive party for him in a club on Coruscant. Anyway, he showed up alone, but a little while later Thrawn showed up too. He was just a Lieutenant and the time. I figured some big higher-up caught wind of the party and sent Thrawn to babysit Tycho or something, seeing as Tycho was the best pilot on his ship at the time. But then, you know, they kept looking at each other, and they were _really_ grinding on each other on the dance floor – it was crowded out there but not _that_ crowded – and then they left together.”

     “And then a few days later, Tycho defected, and Thrawn didn’t come with him,” Wedge said. He sighed. “...You saw Tycho after he defected too, right? How did he seem?”

     “Devastated, like all the other Alderaanians coming through,” Hobbie replied. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time since it wasn’t unusual.”

      “Any idea how long they were married before Tycho’s defection?” Wes asked.

      “Assuming the date on the holo I saw was in the Imperial counting system, not even a year,” Wedge said.

     Wes whistled and Hobbie shook his head. “That’s hard to take, for anyone,” he said.

     “But then, why wouldn’t Thrawn try to get him out of Lusankya?” Wedge asked.

     “Maybe he didn’t know Tycho was there?” Wes suggested. “Or he thought if he did it would just cause more trouble.”

     “He’s a Grand Admiral –“   

     “And Ysanne Isard is cruel, manipulative, and brilliant,” Hobbie interrupted before Wedge could really get going. “I don’t know anything about Thrawn, but she’s not someone you cross lightly.”

     They fell into silence again, then Wes leaned forward. “Wedge? What are you going to do now? You can’t abandon Tycho. This case is the shakiest piece of bantha poodoo I’ve ever seen, but they need a scapegoat and if his side can’t come up with better evidence, he’s going to be executed. I know you’re mad at him but come on, you don’t think he deserves that, do you?”

     Wedge shook his head. “No...”

     “Then you have to come up with something to do other than sit in here and mope because you didn’t get to be best man at the Thrawn-Celchu Grand Imperial Wedding,” Wes concluded.

     “It’s a good thing Tycho kept his own name, Tycho Thrawn is just awful,” Hobbie added.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

     “How much longer until we arrive at the shipyards?” Thrawn asked.

     “Another day,” Pellaeon replied. “We could push the engines and shave off a few hours, though.”

     Thrawn just shook his head. “No, I don’t see the point in that. We are in no real rush.”

     The two sat in silence for a moment, Thrawn quietly finishing the last bits of his dinner ( _Force, Imperial food has_ not _improved since my Academy days_ ) and Pellaeon watching him. The human Captain poured them both a fresh glass of tonight’s alcohol of choice – a strong, slightly tangy fruit-based wine from Naboo. “You seem much less tense this evening, sir.”

     “An illusion, I assure you,” Thrawn replied grimly. “Returning from the Rim always makes me a little tense.”

     Pellaeon frowned a little as Thrawn finished off his glass of wine, then poured him another. “Perhaps you need some time off.”

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you think so?” he asked, his tone clearly indicating that he wasn’t interested in discussing the matter.

     “If not that, then at least some down time on board the _Chimaera_ ,” Pellaeon suggested.

     “And what exactly would you suggest?” Thrawn asked. This was a Star Destroyer, not a luxury resort. What was he supposed to do, sleep more?

     Actually, that idea didn’t sound half bad.

     Pellaeon shrugged. “You seemed to appreciate that massage the other day. Perhaps a full one would be more to your liking?”

     “We don’t have masseuses on the _Chimaera._ ”

     “Who said we need one?” Pellaeon asked, smirking a little.

     It may have been the wine, or something in the way the human smirked, but Thrawn immediately felt his cheeks going hot. Goodness, but that one little sentence contained so many possibilities...so many _naughty_ possibilities...for things Thrawn hadn’t experienced in years. Things he had missed all that time. He finished the last of his wine, then stood up and motioned for Pellaeon to follow him. Fortunately, his quarters where quite close to the officer’s mess, where they had been eating, and they didn’t meet anyone along the way. It would have been quite embarrassing to have anyone else in the crew see the purple blush on his cheeks, after all. Thrawn had to try a couple of times to open his door, but then he ushered Pellaeon inside and headed straight for his bedroom. The only other place to do a proper massage was on the floor and that just wasn’t going to work.

     He stopped in the middle of his room, looking around at the sparse furnishings. Aside from a few nice (and mostly original) pieces of art, a simple desk, and an equally simple (but large) bed, the room was empty. Only the art gave it any sense of personality. But for the moment, Thrawn couldn’t have cared less about that if he tried. He was just trying to force himself out of the usual Grand Admiral mindset he was so used to living in and into something a little less stiff and formal, a little more open...the kind of mindset that didn’t think of things like massages as frivolous, time-wasting luxuries. It was tough.

     Pellaeon stepped in behind him and reached out to rest his hands on Thrawn’s shoulders. The Chiss jumped a little and took a step away, but Pellaeon just followed him. “A little jumpy in addition to being tense?” he asked. “Definitely need some down time, sir. This will be easier if you’re on the bed and topless.”

     Thrawn glanced back at Pellaeon over his shoulder, then shrugged out of his uniform jacket and draped it over the back of his desk chair. He left his undershirt on, though. Even so, his near-perfect physique was obvious through the thin material. Thrawn took just enough time to kick his boots off before flopping down face-first on his bed. “Good enough?” he asked.

     Pellaeon laughed quietly and knelt on the bed beside him, wasting no time at all in getting to work. “Good enough,” he said.

     At first, Thrawn managed to maintain something resembling a sense of decorum about the whole thing. He lay there silently as the captain worked, only hissing every so often when the other man found a particularly difficult knot to work on. But eventually, the knots were gone, and all that was left was a generally pleasurable massage. Before he even knew what he was doing, Thrawn found himself letting out soft little sighs and moans of pleasure. Yes, he really had needed this...thought he admitted that Pellaeon’s involvement was an unexpected but not unwelcome bonus.

     Eventually, he became aware that Pellaeon was leaning closer, almost close enough to kiss his neck. Thrawn turned his head to face the other and studied him from the corner of one glowing red eye. Pellaeon noticed and paused in his work, then slowly and lightly trailed his fingertips down Thrawn’s back, along his spine, stopping just shy of touching his rear. Thrawn closed his eyes and shivered.

     “I don’t know _why_ you push yourself so hard,” Pellaeon’s voice whispered in his ear. “Surely you deserve pleasures just as much as anyone else...why deny yourself?”

     Thrawn shivered more and pushed himself up enough to turn and get a good look at Pellaeon. “I don’t...”

     “You do. It’s so obvious.” Pellaeon raised an eyebrow a bit and let his eyes wander over Thrawn’s body. “When was the last time you just enjoyed yourself? Really?”

     Thrawn considered. “Years ago,” he finally said. At least it was honest.

     “Let’s fix that, then,” Pellaeon replied.

     Thrawn was never entirely sure what it was that made him give in to that. The wine, perhaps, or just his own general feeling that Pellaeon had a point. But either way, before even he knew what he was doing, he was rolling onto his back and yanking Pellaeon down on top of him. The human kissed along his neck, hands eagerly working their way under Thrawn’s shirt to stroke his well-muscled torso, then down his to his hips and around to squeeze his rear. Thrawn himself pulled at Pellaeon’s clothes, desperately trying to open his jacket, then simply gave up and collapsed back onto the bed to let the other do all the work. Pellaeon didn’t mind one bit. He was good with his hands, after all.

     Pellaeon had gotten Thrawn’s shirt off and was getting to work on Thrawn’s pants before the quiet voices in the back of the Chiss’s head started interfering. At first they were quiet and subtle and he had no problem ignoring them. The feeling of Pellaeon’s touch was electric, perfect, exactly what he had needed and wanted all this time, and as far as he was concerned nothing was going to get in his way. But then he felt Pellaeon’s hands working their way up the inside of his thigh, and the little voices got louder. The kisses Pellaeon trailed along his collarbone made them louder still. But it was the moment Pellaeon’s hand was only centimeters from his rapidly hardening erection that made the voices scream, and they were all screaming one thing.

     _TYCHO._

     Thrawn gasped and his eyes snapped open, then he reached down and grabbed Pellaeon’s wrist just in time. “No,” he said, his voice surprisingly rasp. “No, I can’t do this. I just can’t.”

     Pellaeon seemed surprised, but he clearly had enough experience to handle the sudden change of pace. He blinked at Thrawn, then leaned away from him. “No? You did seem to be enjoying it,” he said.

      “I was,” Thrawn replied. “I won’t deny that. But...I can’t. I would be hurting someone else very badly if I did.” Of course, he was certain Tycho would never find out about any of this, but did he really want to take that chance. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to...lead you on...but I can’t and you need to go now.”

     Pellaeon pondered for a moment, then nodded and climbed off of Thrawn’s bed. He took a moment to straighten his uniform and make himself look more presentable before sketching a quick bow. “Admiral,” he said, and quickly took his leave. Thrawn just stared after him, breathing hard and wondering if he would regret that decision later.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     _At this rate, he’s going to be dead within a week and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it._

     Wedge huffed and stared at the screen before him. He was supposed to be writing a report, but thoughts of Tycho and the trial kept intruding and he couldn’t concentrate enough to so much as write a word, let alone an entire report he had to actually think about. Commander Ettyk and the rest of the prosecution team seemed able to pull witnesses and evidence to support their case out of thin air, while finding the same to support Tycho’s defense seemed almost impossible. Even things brought up to support Tycho seemed to turn against him in the courtroom. It was frustrating to the point of infuriating as far as Wedge was concerned.

     He was determined to find a solution, any solution, no matter how hard he had to work to find it. Ideas kept popping into his head, each crazier than the last. But finally, he settled on one idea that was crazy, reckless, almost certain to end his career and possibly even his life. Sadly, it was the only idea he could see that had any chance of success. And wasn’t Tycho’s life worth any risk?

     It was.

     Wedge gave a small nod of determination as he came to his decision. Yes, he would go ahead with this plan. At the very least he wouldn’t feel so lost and helpless anymore. And if it didn’t work, well, he probably wouldn’t be around long to suffer from the knowledge of his failure anyway. He took a deep breath and turned his attention to finishing his report, and as soon as he sent it off he went to take a nap. He was going to need it.

     That night, long after everyone else had gone to sleep or taken up their night-watch posts, Wedge slipped into the hangar bay and climbed into his X-wing. His droid was already there, waiting patiently for him to arrive so they could go. Wedge ran through a quick pre-flight systems check, gave the coordinates he had worked out earlier a final look to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally fly into a star or any other dangerous object, and then he was ready. He told Control that he was going out on patrol. Since he was Wedge Antilles, nobody questioned him. If Wedge Antilles wanted to add his presence to the ships already patrolling the skies and space around Coruscant, he was to be welcomed with open arms.

     But Wedge had other plans. The moment he was far enough away from Coruscant to safely enter hyperspace, he jumped, firmly ignoring the frantic voices in his headset telling him not to jump and to return to base immediately. _Better to ask forgiveness than permission,_ he thought.

     The trip, fortunately, didn’t take that long. According to the data he had been able to dig up after Wes and Hobbie left his office, Thrawn and his Star Destroyers were usually stationed somewhere in the Outer Rim, often even as far out as the Unknown Regions. But for the moment, he had returned to the main part of the galaxy and was currently stationed at one of the Empire’s remaining ship yard, where it seemed the _Chimaera_ was docked for maintenance. It took him a couple of unpleasant, cramped days to get there, but finally, he came out of hyperspace at the Imperial ship yard.

     For the first time, the sheer stupidity of his really idea hit him. The ship yard was buzzing with activity, everything from tiny TIE fighters to the biggest Star Destroyers in the Fleet, and here he was, a lone X-wing flying into the middle of it all. This was indeed ridiculous. But he was committed. He set his sensors to scan for the _Chimaera_ , and as soon as he found it, he headed straight for it. The moment he was within hailing distance, he opened a communications channel.

     “This is Commander Wedge Antilles to the Imperial Star Destroyer _Chimaera_. Requesting permission to come aboard for a peaceful discussion with the Grand Admiral.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn tensed a little as Pellaeon approached him. Ever since he had thrown the Captain out of his quarters just a few days before, things had been tense. They hadn’t discussed what had happened and frankly, Thrawn found that he was happy to keep it that way. What had happened was awkward and weird and something he had vowed he would never do. He had never in his wildest dreams imagined that he would cheat on Tycho. And yet, look at how close he had come to doing so. Perhaps he actually _had_ done so. He didn’t even want to think about it.

     “Anything to report, Captain?”

     “No sir,” Pellaeon replied. Before Thrawn could say anything, he added, “And I do apologize about the miscommunication the other day, sir. It won’t happen again.”

     “Good,” Thrawn replied, though of course he was relieved. Pellaeon didn’t _seem_ angry. Either he really wasn’t angry or he was an amazing actor. “I too regret the incident. We should put it behind us.”

     “Yes, sir.” Pellaeon watched Thrawn out of the corner of his eye for a moment. “But still, sir, consider my...comments. Even if you choose not to participate in...certain activities.”

     Thrawn nodded. “Noted, Captain.”

     They fell silent, watching the activity in the shipyards in silence. All seemed well, and then...

     “Admiral, sir?” the communications officer called. He sounded terribly perplexed. “We have just received a transmission from someone claiming to be Wedge Antilles and asking to come aboard to speak with you.”

     “That’s ridiculous,” Pellaeon said. “Antilles wouldn’t come all the way out here to do something that stupid.”

     “On the contrary, Captain, I believe he has indeed done so,” Thrawn replied grimly. “Is that not his X-wing?”

     Pellaeon and the rest of the bridge crew turned to see where Thrawn was pointing, and just as Thrawn said, there was an X-wing hovering well within their firing range. “Scan it,” Pellaeon ordered the crew. The appropriate crew members scrambled to comply, and Pellaeon turned back to Thrawn. “What does he want to talk to you for?”

     Thrawn shook his head slowly. “I have no idea, Captain.”

     Of course, he really did have an idea. Wedge Antilles was known to be a squadron mate and friend of Tycho Celchu. Had he found out about Tycho and Thrawn’s relationship? If so, then perhaps he was here because of the trial. It seemed unlikely, and incredibly stupid of him, but it was the only logical reason Thrawn could see. Even Rogue Squadron couldn’t think that sending a single pilot out to the _Chimaera_ was a good way to destroy it, even if the ship was vulnerable now. And surely the Rebellion would understand that sending one of their best pilots to, say, assassinate Thrawn was just throwing his life and talent away on a suicide mission.

     “It checks out, sir,” one of the men in charge of scanning the X-wing called. “Proper call signs and everything. He repeats that his mission is peaceful but adds that he had to speak with your privately.”

     Thrawn nodded. “Do we have any empty hangar bays?”

     “Forward Three is empty right now, sir,” Lieutenant Tschel said. “We cleared the TIEs out yesterday for maintenance and refueling.

     “Then have him land there. His ship is to be searched and he is to disarm himself before he sets foot anywhere else in the ship. Bring the bioscanners to make sure he isn’t hiding anything. Then have him meet me in the officer’s mess. Alone.”

     The crew immediately went into action, and Thrawn turned on his heel to leave the bridge. Pellaeon scrambled after him. “I can’t believe you’re doing this, sir.”

     “I’m intrigued,” Thrawn replied. “If he wanted to do any real damage, he could have by now. But he hasn’t. Something else is going on and I want to know what.”

     “At least let me be in there with you,” Pellaeon said.

     “No, Captain. There is no need for us to both be in potential danger. You will stay here and monitor the situation. I will handle Antilles myself.” He turned just long enough to make sure Pellaeon really was going to stay, then stepped into the lift that would take him to the appropriate level and made his way to the officer’s mess. He settled himself into his usual seat, the one at the head of the table, and waited patiently for Wedge Antilles to arrive.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

 

     Wedge’s footsteps echoed through the halls of the _Chimaera_ as he followed the guards. Every step of the way, he had to remind himself that he was here for Tycho, and that the stupidity of voluntarily surrendering himself into the custody of an Imperial Grand Admiral would all be worth it in the end, when Tycho was freed.

      Of course, that assumed his plan even worked. Which wasn’t a given. Which just made the other part of his mind keep chanting, “You’re an idiot, Wedge Antilles” over and over again.

     When they arrived at their destination, the guards stopped outside the door and motioned for Wedge to enter. He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and stepped into the room. As the door slid shut behind him, he immediately noticed two things: the room’s lighting was terribly dim, and Thrawn’s eyes _glowed_. He had always thought it was a trick of the holos, but no, the Admiral’s eyes really did glow, and brightly at that. Wedge felt a shiver go up his spine. Thrawn was sitting all the way across the room, but even from that distance, the glowing eyes were terribly intimidating. Somehow, Wedge got the feeling that if he showed his feelings or looked away and refused to meet the other man’s gaze, it would just make things more difficult, so he took another deep breath and stared right into the glowing red eyes for as long as he could manage.

     “Very good, Commander,” Thrawn said. “You have now entered a most prestigious group of humans – those who can look me in the eye without flinching too much.”

     “Thank you, I think,” Wedge replied. “Do you know why I’m here?”

     “You mean, you haven’t come to be a sacrifice to the tender mercies of my pilots?” Thrawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

     Wedge blinked. “Er...”

     Thrawn motioned to a seat. “Obviously not, Commander. I have an inkling of why you are here, but I would rather hear it from you directly.”

     Wedge walked around the table to the seat Thrawn indicated and gingerly sat down. This much closer to the man, those eyes were even more intimidating. Vaguely he wondered how Tycho had managed to fall in love with the being they belonged to, and how he had managed to do anything at all intimate with him. _Sex with those eyes boring into me would be terrifying._ “Well, I have no idea where you’ve been for the past few months,” he said, “but I’m guessing a...man...of your stature keeps an eye on galactic happenings no matter where he is.” Thrawn just studied him silently, so after an awkward pause Wedge continued, “I’m sure you know by now that the Alliance has taken Coruscant and that Tycho Celchu is on trial for treason.”

     Thrawn shrugged, though Wedge could have sworn he caught a bit of hesitation on his part. “And this trial concerns me how?” Thrawn asked.

     Wedge frowned. “Does that mean you don’t feel anything for Tycho anymore?”

     “Should I?” Thrawn countered.

     “Well, you clearly felt enough for him almost eight years ago.” He reached into his flight suit pocket, which caused Thrawn to start and jerk away in alarm, but Wedge merely pulled a small stack of holos from his pocket and set them all down on the table in front of Thrawn. “I mean, you _did_ go to the trouble of marrying him and all.”

     Thrawn tilted his head a little and gave Wedge a thoughtful look. “He told you, then.”

     “Not willingly,” Wedge replied. “We found out because the tribunal granted the prosecution’s request to search through his things and we found the originals of those holos.” He nodded to the stack on the table. “He managed to hide that for seven years. Nobody even knew he was taken, let alone married, let alone to you.”

     “I suppose this new evidence has made his trial more difficult.”

     “That’s one way of putting it.” Wedge nodded and motioned to the holos. “He’s on trial for treason, you know, and having an Imperial husband doesn’t look good for that.”

     “We haven’t had contact since the day he left.” Thrawn mused. “Actually, we technically haven’t had contact since the day before that.”

      Wedge leaned forward a little. “Can you prove that?”

     Thrawn shrugged. “Doesn’t that depend on whether or not your tribunal would listen to me to begin with? If they won’t, it hardly matters what kind of evidence I might be able to provide.”

      “I’m sure they would listen,” Wedge said. “It’s not like you have anything to gain by testifying on his behalf.”

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “Exactly, Antilles. Nothing to gain and so much to lose. So why should I bother?”

      Wedge frowned. “You aren’t worried about Tycho at all?”

     “I never said that.”

      “Well, that’s what he’ll think if he finds out you refused to testify!” Wedge sighed. “He said you’re out here to protect your people, right?” Thrawn just scowled at him, so Wedge pushed ahead. “We can help them. We can send reinforcements.”

     “I’m _quite_ sure my people are capable of taking care of themselves without ‘reinforcements’ from a raggle-taggle group of Rebels who just happened to get lucky this one time,” Thrawn replied sharply.

     “Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?” Wedge countered. “I mean, if they can take care of themselves and all.” Thrawn pursed his lips and Wedge spread the holos out, pushing them closer to him. “Look at those. Don’t you remember? You _loved_ him once. Doesn’t that make him important to you too?”

     “I have trillions of people to take care of –“

     “And you can’t save them all. The Empire could decide to go after them tomorrow and what could you do about it? You think the Warlords are going to stop just because you tell them to? And what if there’s another threat out there? Are you going to join their military next to protect your people?” He tapped a finger against one of the holos. “You can’t save every single...one of your people from every single threat, but you have a chance to save _this_ man from dying for no reason.”  

      Thrawn sighed and frowned at Wedge, like he was an unruly toddler making demands of a parent. “And just how am I to do that?”

     “By presenting evidence that he didn’t commit treason and that he _won’t_ commit treason because he’s not a Lusankya operative.”

     “Would you like me to go back in time and save Alderaan while we’re at it?” Thrawn countered.

      “Yeah, if you have time.”

      Thrawn just stared at him for a second, then laughed. “I cannot believe you just said that to me.”

      Wedge gave a nervous chuckle of his own and said, “Honestly, I can’t believe I just said it either.”

      Thrawn nodded. “Alright, Antilles, but it’s not going to be instant. I need a few hours to collect the evidence you want. I assume you will want any records I can access detailing Tycho’s time at the Lusankya?”

     Wedge nodded too. “Anything you have proving you didn’t contact him and he didn’t contact you would be good too, though I don’t know how it’s possible to find evidence of something that doesn’t exist.”

     “Yes...” Thrawn said. “Well. I will compile this information. ...I do believe you could use a shower, being cramped in that X-wing all the way from Coruscant couldn’t have been pleasant.”

      “If you don’t mind,” Wedge said. “I could use a snack too.”

     “You’ll be fed,” Thrawn said. “And I’ll make arrangements for us to return to Coruscant. We won’t both fit in your X-wing, after all.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Several hours later, after a hot shower and a good meal, Wedge joined Thrawn in the _Chimaera’s_ hangar. Someone had dug up a shuttle that could transport the two of them and Wedge’s X-wing, and said shuttle was currently waiting for them both. Thrawn arrived just after Wedge, followed by his Captain, who seemed a bit sour about the whole situation.

     “Captain Pellaeon doesn’t believe I will be treated well,” Thrawn said. “I have assured him that you and my other Rebel hosts will treat me with the utmost respect.” It wasn’t a request or a question. It was an order, and Wedge knew it.

     “Of course,” he said. “Don’t worry, Captain, he’ll be back in one piece soon enough.”

     Thrawn and Pellaeon exchanged goodbyes. Or at least, they tried to. The end result of their argument was that Wedge wound up with two Imperials on his shuttle. He wasn’t too pleased with that, but on the plus side, at least there would be someone else there to occupy Thrawn. Wedge didn’t know what he would do if he had to be alone with the Admiral for more than a few minutes.

     The flight to Coruscant was uneventful enough. Thrawn and Pellaeon occupied themselves with games of dejarik, while Wedge kept mostly to the cockpit and tried to figure out just how he was going to land them on Coruscant without causing trouble. He couldn’t think of a way. After all, he had kind of blown out of there without permission. Landing by himself would be problematic enough. Landing with an Imperial Grand Admiral and an Imperial Captain would be nearly impossible.

     Well before he had formulated a plan, they arrived at Coruscant. The moment they were within hailing distance of the planet, Wedge could make out the tell-tale lights of X-wing engines streaking towards them. “Force I hope that’s Rogue Squadron,” he muttered.

     “I do believe if I have to die at the hands of enraged X-wing pilots, death by Rogue is the ideal way to go,” Thrawn mused. Wedge and Pellaeon just gave him looks that bordered between shocked and amused, but Thrawn just ignored them.

     “Unidentified Imperial shuttle, this is Lieutenant Darklighter of Rogue Squadron. Turn around immediately or we will consider you hostile.”

     Wedge grabbed the comm before Thrawn or Pellaeon could be tempted. “Gavin! Gavin it’s me, it’s Wedge, don’t attack, repeat do not attack.”

     “Wedge?” Gavin swore, making Wedge wince. “You blew out of here days ago without even a warning, where the hell have you been?”

     “Getting help. How’s Tycho?”

     “Bad,” Gavin said. “He thought you abandoned him.”

     Wedge sighed. “Well, I didn’t, but I didn’t want to risk telling him my plan. Listen, we need to land, and...where’s Nawara?”

     “At court. They’re supposed to be starting in a few minutes.”

     It was Wedge’s turn to swear. “Can’t you call him and have them delay or something? It’s urgent. I really need to talk to him.”

     “I can try.” Gavin’s end of the conversation went silent for a few minutes, then he said, “No can do, Commander, they’re moving ahead as schedule. Ackbar says you’re to get there as soon as you can though, you were supposed to be on the stand yesterday.”

     Wedge winced. “Ah well, just one more thing to add to all the reasons I’m going to be in trouble. Lead us down, Gavin.”

     They landed safely, and Wedge led the way down the shuttle’s ramp into the hangar bay. Gavin was there to meet them, with a speeder parked nearby. Clearly, he was going to bring Wedge straight to court. Also clearly, he hadn’t expected Wedge to have Imperial guests.

    “What are –“

     “No time,” Wedge interrupted. “I’ll tell you on the way. Come on, get in, let’s get going, no time to waste.” He ushered Thrawn and Pellaeon into the speeder, settled into the seat beside Gavin, and they were off.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “We’re so thrilled you could join us, Commander Antilles.”

     Wedge winced a little at the tone in General Salm’s voice. “Apologies, sirs,” he said to the tribunal, “but I was off gathering evidence in support of Captain Celchu’s innocence.”

     “Without permission,” Admiral Ackbar replied. “You understand that severe penalties you face for dereliction of duty and being in contempt of court, correct?”

     “Yes, sir, but if it means an innocent man doesn’t die, I think it’s worth it.”

     Commander Ettyk was scowling at Wedge, clearly unimpressed. “And just what is this evidence you were collecting? I haven’t heard a thing about it.”

     “Begging the Commander’s pardon, but you _have_ heard about it. In fact, I’m pretty sure you were planning on presenting it as evidence of Tycho’s _guilt_ ,” Wedge countered.

     “I fail to see how that is possible,” Ettyk said. “At this point, the odds of you finding any useful new evidence –“

     “One thing I have learned from my time in this part of the galaxy, Commander, is that it is quite pointless to tell a Corellian the odds. It only wastes your precious time and breath and annoys the Corellian.”

     Every head in the courtroom turned to look to the back of the room, where the voice had come from. The members of the tribunal immediately became alarmed, and General Madine had to physically prevent General Salm from drawing his blaster on the man approaching them. Wedge turned away from the tribunal as well, and as he did, he caught sight of Tycho. The Alderaanian was standing up part-way to get a look at what was happening, and when he finally saw who had spoken he collapsed back in his seat with an expression that clearly said he was completely and utterly in shock.

      Grand Admiral Thrawn, for his part, looked straight ahead at the tribunal as he approached, and finally stopped when he was only a few feet from them. “Put the blaster away, Salm, we both know you’re not going to shoot me in open court,” he said. “Not if you’re smart, anyway.”

     Salm spluttered a little, but Madine finally forced the blaster back into its holster and the other General back into his seat. Ackbar just blinked at Thrawn. “And why exactly are you here?”

     “Because your Commander Antilles is actually a much smarter man than you give him credit for and he recognizes that sometimes, the most dangerous thing is also the most worthwhile.” Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “It has come to my attention that some of the evidence you would _dare_ to bring against Captain Celchu involves me and yet the only person who even bothered to seek out my involvement in the matter was in fact Commander Antilles.”

     “And why should we believe a single word you have to say?” Commander Ettyk said.

     Thrawn slowly turned his head to look at her, fixing her with his glowing red stare, and she squeaked a bit as she took a few steps back. Thrawn just raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Just behind him, Pellaeon fought valiantly to stifle a snicker. “You don’t have to believe me, of course,” Thrawn said, “but it has always been my understanding that you Rebels pride yourselves on such things as your superior morality and your willingness to hear all sides of a story before passing judgment. Are you really willing to abandon those beliefs here and now, just so you can make use of a convenient scapegoat?”

     “The prosecution has a right to hear the evidence first so we can prepare our counterarguments!” Ettyk said. She had apparently regained her backbone.

     “As does the defense,” Nawara said. “I assure you, Commander, that I had no idea this was going to happen.”

     “And yet it has happened,” Thrawn said. “How you deal with it, of course, is up to you.”

     Ackbar waved his hand to stall any other comments, then leaned forward a little in his seat. “You have evidence that will change the outcome of this case, Admiral?”

     “Of course,” Thrawn replied.

     “And why come all this way to present it?”

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow, then turned to Wedge. “Have the things you showed me not come to light here yet?”

     “Um...” Wedge replied.

     “We were just about to get to them, actually,” Nawara said.

     Ackbar sighed and motioned for Salm and Madine to consult with him for a moment, then nodded. “Counselors, Commander Antilles, Admiral, and Mr. Celchu. We will move somewhere a little more private to...deal with this issue.”

     It took some time, but after several minutes they managed to move into a small room off of the main courtroom. Thrawn immediately took a seat, with Pellaeon standing respectfully behind and just beside him. The others arranged themselves around the table, and somehow Tycho wound up directly across from Thrawn. Their eyes met for a moment and Thrawn gave him a small smile, which made Tycho blush a little.

     With everyone finally settled, General Madine turned his attention to the two lawyers. “Let’s start with this new information that was mentioned in the courtroom. Commander Ettyk?”

     She cleared her throat a little and produced a folder from her briefcase, which she opened and set on the table. The incriminating holos of Tycho and Thrawn were now visible to everyone, and the three tribunal members and Captain Pellaeon made various quiet sounds of surprise. Salm picked up a holo of the wedding, stared at it, then turned it so the rest of the table could see and said, “Can someone explain what in blazes is going on in this holo?”

     “That would be a wedding, General,” Thrawn said calmly.

     “Your wedding,” Salm replied. When Thrawn nodded, he motioned to Tycho and said, “Your wedding to _him_.” Thrawn nodded again and Salm threw the holo down. “Well that’s just wonderful, we’ve had a Lusankya operative married to a damn Grand Admiral training our elite X-wing squadron all this time. Next thing you know you’re going to tell me he had a love child with Darth Vader.”

     “Certainly not, they never met and they were both baseline humans anyway,” Thrawn replied. Salm bristled, but Thrawn ignored him and continued, “You are also incorrect on one other count. Tycho is not and never has been a Lusankya operative.”

     “But he has been married to you,” Madine said.

     “Yes.”

     “Then obviously he passes you information,” Salm said.

     “No.”

     “No?” Salm asked, clearly incredulous. “No?”

     “No,” Thrawn repeated. “This is the first time we have had any contact at all since he defected.”

     “I don’t believe it,” Salm replied.

     “And therein lies the problem,” Thrawn said. “Antilles told me about your mistrust of Tycho. You let it cloud all of your judgment. But if you would just stop talking,” he frowned at Salm, who looked about ready to launch into an angry tirade, “perhaps I can explain things to you.”

     Madine nodded. “I for one would like to hear his evidence. What harm could it do?”

     Ackbar simply nodded in silent agreement, and Salm was forced to acquiesce, though he scowled the whole time. Commander Ettyk and Nawara had a hurried, whispered conference, and finally Ettyk stood up. “With the Tribunal’s permission, Counselor Ven and I will simply question the Admiral as though he were on the witness stand.”

     The tribunal agreed and Thrawn was sworn in, and without further delay Ettyk began questioning him. “You say that Captain Celchu hasn’t been passing information to you.”

     “That is correct,” Thrawn said. “And before you ask, no, I have no solid proof. It’s rather difficult to have solid proof of communications that _didn’t_ happen.”

     She nodded. “But you also seem to believe he couldn’t possibly be a Lusankya operative. Perhaps you could explain that to us.”

     Thrawn gave her a cold, tight smirk. “I thought you would never ask. Lusankya was Ysanne Isard’s pet project, indulged only because Emperor Palpatine had a fetish for horrible weapons and cruelty to prisoners. Lusankya is a way to combine both. It is true, of course, that a proper Lusankya sleeper operative is one of the deadliest forces in the galaxy, if only because their intended victims never know what’s coming until it’s too late. There are _no_ clues, _no_ signs that a person has been made into a Lusankya agent until after the deed is done. This is an unwavering fact.”

     “Captain Celchu remembers being at Lusankya,” Ettyk said. “Surely that means he was converted? Though obviously something in his conversion didn’t take right.”

     Thrawn shook his head. “On the contrary, it is evidence that his conversion was one of the most spectacular failures in Lusankya’s history.” He pulled a datacard from his pocket and passed it to her. “All of the hard evidence for what I’m telling you today is on there, you will want to look at it at your leisure. But to make a potentially long legal meeting slightly more tolerable, allow me to explain a few things. Any institution like the Lusankya is going to have failures. Any institution at all is going to have failures. The more extreme the institution, the more failures it will have. For example, I attended the most prestigious military academy my people have, and at least two thirds of the individuals who entered with me didn’t make it to graduation. Lusankya is no different. For every successful operative out there, there are several failed ones. Of course, we only know for sure about those who survive the process and are later identified as Lusankya prisoners, but even taking only those beings into account, we still have a spectacular failure rate of four failures for every one success. Of course, there are probably people who go through Lusankya, fail, and are never identified as Lusankya prisoners, and there are prisoners who die in the process. I’m sure their numbers make the failure to success ratio much worse.”

      “So you’re saying that the fact that Celchu remembers he was at Lusanky _is_ evidence that he _is not_ a sleeper waiting to be activated?”

     “Yes,” Thrawn said. “It’s rare, of course, but there have been others who remembered. Most of them go mad or don’t live long after they leave, so Tycho is exceptional in that regard. It just shows the strength of his mind and spirit.”

     “How do you know so much about Lusankya yourself?” Ettyk asked.

     “I’m a Grand Admiral, it’s my job to know about such things,” he replied.

     Nawara took the datacard from Ettyk and stuck it into his datapad, scrolling through it as he listened. “I know we said we were going to do this like a courtroom, but can I interrupt for a second?” When nobody protested, he continued, “So, did you support the creation of Lusankya?”

     “Absolutely not,” Thrawn said. “It’s a pointlessly barbaric place. I wasn’t in a position to know or argue against its creation at the time, though. I learned about it after the fact when I was promoted to Grand Admiral.”

     Nawara nodded and kept scrolling, until he came to a file. “Commander, look,” he said.

     Ettyk leaned over to see, eyes widening in surprise. “Well I’ll be a son of a nerf herder,” she muttered.

     “Do I want to know?” Wedge asked.

     “Tycho’s file from Lusankya,” Nawara said. “...supporting everything the Admiral here is saying.”

      “Scroll down more, what are these other ones?” Ettyk said. Nawara did as she asked, and they both gasped. “You’re kriffing _kidding,_ ” she said.

     “Commander, language!” Salm scolded.

     “Sorry sir, but look.” She took the datapad from Nawara and handed it to him. “According to that, there _is_ a mole in Rogue Squadron but we’ve had it all wrong from the beginning. Right down to the gender.”

     Wedge leaned over to look at the datapad along with the tribunal members, and hissed. “Erisi,” he said. “I never would have suspected.”

     “There’s more,” Nawara said grimly. “More files. More moles, too?”

     Ackbar scrolled further, and paused. “...No. But it appears that Corran Horn’s death was faked...he has been at Lusanky all this time...being just as much of a failure as Celchu.”

     “Does anybody know where Lusankya actually is?” Wedge asked.

     “That’s the difficult part,” Thrawn said. “Nobody knows and Isard has _those_ files too well protected.”  
     Any reply anyone would have made was interrupted by a commotion in the main court room, and Wedge and Ackbar went to investigate. When they returned, they weren’t alone – Corran Horn, freshly escaped from Lusankya and looking a bit worse for wear, was with them. After that, it took mere minutes for the tribunal to come to a decision. Tycho was free to go, with all charges dropped


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

 

      Tycho wandered into the caf shop and looked around, peering into every little corner he could find. He had woken up about an hour ago to a message from Thrawn on his datapad, asking for a meeting, and he had come as quickly as he could. But it didn’t seem that the Chiss was anywhere to be found.

     Tycho sighed a little and went to the counter to order himself some caf and a snack, and once his order was ready, he found a quiet little table in a corner. He sat so he could look out the closest window and absent-mindedly stirred his drink.

     “So this is how you’re spending your first day of freedom?”

      Tycho blinked up at Hobbie, who was standing over his table. “I didn’t even see you come in,” he said.

     “I got here before you,” Hobbie said. He nodded to a table a short distance away, where Wedge and Wes were already sitting. “We thought you saw us, but...” he shrugged. “Anyway, want to join us?”

      Tycho considered the offer. It would be nicer than just sitting here, probably. But then, maybe Thrawn would show up after all. Besides, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about talking to Wedge again. So he shook his head. “Thanks, Hobbie, but I’m okay here.”

     “Well, if you want company...” The other man nodded, then went back to his table. Wedge stared at Tycho for a little longer, but Tycho stoically ignored him.

     He was just about to give up and leave when the caf shop door opened again, and he looked up to see the tall, blue-skinned figure of Thrawn enter. Tycho felt a twinge of relief that the other had chosen to wear civilian clothes and not his Grand Admiral’s uniform. Thrawn glanced around a bit, noted Tycho’s location, then ordered himself a drink before coming to join Tycho.

     “Hi,” Tycho said when Thrawn sat down across from him.

     “Hello,” Thrawn replied.

     “So, how’ve you been?”

     Thrawn shrugged a little. “Keeping busy. There aren’t many chances to relax when you’re a Grand Admiral. I finally understand why ‘vacation’ wasn’t part of Ar’alani’s vocabulary.”

     Tycho nodded. “How is she, anyway?”

     “Retired,” Thrawn replied. “I’m amazed she made it that far, honestly, but she deserves it. I just hope she doesn’t spend all of her time alone somewhere, like so many of them do.”

     “That would be tragic, she was kind to my family,” Tycho said.

      Thrawn nodded and stirred his drink, and they sat in awkward silence for a bit. Finally, Thrawn glanced up at Tycho and said, “I missed you.”

     “I can’t believe you actually showed up here,” Tycho said. “What possessed you to come here, now?”

     Thrawn’s lips twitched. “Your commander can be very convincing when he wishes to be.”

     Tycho’s head jerked up. “Wedge?” Thrawn nodded. “So that’s where he was...I thought he just ran out on me. He was...um...upset that I didn’t tell him about us.”

     Thrawn stopped stirring and glanced up at Tycho. “I thought we would make it a little longer before having to deal with that.”

     “With what?”

     “The subject of us. It’s been seven years since I watched you take off from the _Accuser’s_ hangar bay. And I know you didn’t do it that way to hurt me, there were a lot of factors beyond our control involved in how that happened. But that doesn’t change the seven years part. It doesn’t change the fact that I have wondered almost every day since then if there was even still an ‘us’ to speak of.”

     Tycho nodded slowly. “Seven years is a long time to even like someone without ever seeing them.”

     “I never said I didn’t love you,” Thrawn countered. “If I didn’t I wouldn’t be here, regardless of how well your Commander Antilles can use his words. But to deny that both of us have changed would be...foolish.”

     Tycho took a shaky breath and nodded, looking away from Thrawn and studying the people passing by outside the window. “I had the opportunity to cheat, recently. Right before getting arrested.”

     “As did I.”

     Tycho blinked at him, then nodded slowly. “So, on the count of three, we both say what happened. So neither of us has to go first.”

     “You are that frightened of the outcome?”

     “Some things are just nerve-wracking, and I did just get out of prison,” Tycho replied. “So, on three. One...Two...”

     “I let him get pretty far before coming to my senses and throwing him out of my quarters,” Thrawn interrupted. “But then I realized I still loved you, even after all that time, and I couldn’t risk being the one to destroy what we had by being stupid and lustful.”

     Tycho’s eyes widened, and it took him a moment to realize his mouth was open. “...I had a beautiful women sitting on my couch asking me out,” he finally said. “I turned her down. Because I didn’t want to be the one to ruin it either.”

     “Well, I suppose that settles that then,” Thrawn replied. “I suppose the only question is, what now?”

     “We can’t just pick up where we left off,” Tycho said.

     Thrawn nodded and sipped his drink. “I quite agree. It’s been too long. At this rate, we pretty much have to start from scratch and hope for the best.”

     “What, you mean you _don’t_ want to just jump right in bed with me and go back to being all domestic again?” Tycho teased.

     Thrawn chuckled a little. “As tempting as it sounds...it has been too long. We don’t even know if we’re compatible anymore. All married people change, Tycho, but usually they have the chance to change together. We never got that chance. But if you want to try...”

     “I do. I waited this long for the chance, like hell I’m not going to take it.”

     “Then I suppose we need to discuss the details. Where we will live, things like that.”

     Tycho looked around the caf shop, then to the Coruscant streets. “I won’t go back to the Empire,” he said. “So if that was your plan, I’m putting a stop to it right now.”

     “And I will not defect to the Rebellion,” Thrawn replied. “It’s too dangerous.”

      “So what does that leave?” Tycho asked.

      “We could both become private citizens on some neutral world somewhere. Or...well. There’s always the Ascendancy.”

     Tycho nodded. “...How much time do we have to decide?”

     “Not much, I’m afraid. I have to return to the _Chimaera_ soon.” Thrawn drummed his fingers on the table. “I understand that it would be quite a change for you,” he finally said. “And I know it’s not an easy decision. But I would argue that any decision made now does not have to be permanent. It just has to be long enough to give us a fair shot again.”

     Tycho nodded again. “...Do you have at least until tomorrow morning?”

     “I do.”

     “Then let’s meet for dinner again, just something casual, and I promise you I’ll decide by the morning.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

      “He’s here,” Hobbie muttered, watching over Wedge’s shoulder as Thrawn entered the caf shop. “Guess Tycho’s not going to be alone after all.”

     The three friends held their breath as Thrawn approached Tycho’s seat, but if they had been expecting a spectacular reunion they were sorely disappointed. Thrawn joined Tycho as if they were nothing more than friends. Actually, Wedge felt that even that description was optimistic. They both looked so tense, and Tycho looked exhausted, like even breathing was taking such a huge effort.

     They tried not to make it obvious that they were watching and eavesdropping as much as possible, but as the conversation went on, Wes shook his head and leaned closer to Hobbie and Wedge. “That has got to be the saddest thing ever,” he said. “Can you imagine? Here’s Tycho, this guy who lost everything, and now he has a chance to get part of it back and they don’t even know if it will work out.”

      “I used to wonder what it would be like if my parents weren’t really dead, and they just hadn’t managed to catch up with me yet,” Wedge replied. “Now I’m not so sure I would ever want to know.”

     “At least you had time with them,” Hobbie said. “You were what, sixteen when they died? Tycho didn’t even have two solid years with Thrawn.”

     “I feel so guilty for being angry with him now,” Wedge said. He looked down into his drink as shame washed over him. “I mean, how much must it have hurt, to know he couldn’t even risk publically displaying holos of the person he loved? How many pilots do we all know who keep some momento of their loved ones with them at all times and that wasn’t even an option for him?”

     Wes nodded. “You know, I think deep down inside we all know this war is messed up, but it’s stuff like this that really drives it home for me. There shouldn’t be people in this galaxy who can say crap like ‘yeah, my planet doesn’t exist anymore’ or ‘if I’m not out here my people will die’ or ‘oh, my spouse? Haven’t seen him in almost a decade.’”

     The three watched in silence as Tycho and Thrawn finally finished their conversation and left the shop, each going a different direction. Wedge shook his head. “I feel selfish for wanting him to stay.”

     “You mean Tycho?” Wes asked.

     “Yeah, of course.”

     “It’s not selfish to want to keep a friend,” Hobbie said. “But I think we might have lost our chance.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “Sir?”

     Thrawn glanced up from the holomag he was reading. It was the first time in what felt like forever that he had gotten to do something as simple and normal as read a holomag. This one was particularly brain-cell-killing, but so far it was serving as a nice diversion from the stresses of his normal life and his concerns over Tycho’s decision. “Yes, Captain?”

     “Just...wondering if you remember that we return to the _Chimaera_ tomorrow, sir,” Pellaeon said.

     Thrawn nodded, eyes going back to the mag. “You are returning. I have not decided if I will.”

     “You’re not seriously considering _defecting_?” In Pellaeon’s opinion, no man was worth that, not even one as photogenic as Tycho Celchu.

     “Is it defecting to return to one’s own people?” Thrawn asked. “Because if the answer is yes then that’s exactly what I’m considering.”

      Pellaeon nodded a bit. “I see. Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time.”

      “I beg your pardon?”

     The human winced a little. “Look, you missed Celchu enough to come all the way out here and testify on his behalf. You can present that cold and calculating exterior to the crew all you want but I know there’s more to you than that. Even you have feelings.”

     “Indeed,” Thrawn said coldly. “You would know, you tried to take advantage of them the other day.”

     Pellaeon raised an eyebrow. “I noticed you weren’t too eager to stop me,” he countered. “I wasn’t trying to take advantage. I was trying to do something we both wanted. I misunderstood your signals. It happens.”

     Thrawn sighed. “You’re right, of course. My apologies. Being here has not made me less tense. It has just...added another problem for me to worry about.”

     “What will happen to your people when you leave?”

     “Exactly.”

      Pellaeon shrugged. “They’ll be fine. After all, they’ll have you back. And Celchu at your side, most likely.”

     Thrawn smiled a little. “He did seem more relaxed at dinner...”

     “Then stop worrying so much, pretend I didn’t say a word about the _Chimaera,_ and go back to your holomag. What are you reading, anyway?”

     “Something about cooking,” Thrawn replied. “This particular article is about unusual cuts of meat and how to prepare them. ‘Tenderize tough tauntaun with Tatooine desert thyme and Corellian sea salt.’”

     Pellaeon nearly choked from trying not to laugh. “I can’t imagine why anyone would ever eat tauntaun, sir.”

     “Neither can I, but the mental exercise one gets from trying is astounding.”

     “Corellian sea salt is a treat though, you should try some if you haven’t already,” Pellaeon finally said, trying to steer the conversation back to something safe.

     Thrawn nodded. “Though I much prefer the ice salt from my own homeworld. Something about being frozen for so long gives it a certain flavor you just can’t get anywhere else.”

     “Nothing ever tastes like home cooking, sir.”

     “Indeed not, Captain. Indeed not.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

     Tycho didn’t even bother knocking on Wedge’s office door. When he noticed that Wedge was alone and not busy, he simply stepped in and closed the door behind him. Wedge looked up at him and tilted his head a little. “Hi Tycho,” he said.

     “Hi.” Tycho fidgeted a little, then pulled his blaster from its holster and set it on Wedge’s desk. He reached up with both hands to remove the rank insignia from his jacket, and set that on Wedge’s desk to.

     “What’s all this?” Wedge asked, though it was clear he already had a pretty good idea what was going on.

      “My official resignation,” Tycho replied. “And you can save your breath, there’s no point trying to talk me out of it. I’ve already made up my mind.”

     Wedge nodded slowly and eyed the items. “Are you going back to...you know...”

     “The Empire?” Tycho asked, raising an eyebrow. “Never. I’m going with Thrawn to his home planet.”

     “That’s going to be rough on you,” Wedge said.

     “The past seven years have been rough on me,” Tycho replied, sounding more than a little annoyed. “The past few weeks have been the worst since Alderaan. I think I can handle a little culture shock.”

     Wedge nodded and ran a hand back through his hair. “I’m sorry.”

     “For what?”

     “Doubting you. Being angry you didn’t tell me about Thrawn. Not doing a very good job of getting you out of that mess.”

     Tycho shrugged. “To be fair, you _did_ take a huge risk by going to get him yourself. And I do appreciate that. This isn’t your fault, Wedge, but I just can’t take this kind of treatment anymore, and you and I both know it’s only a matter of time before something happens and they need another scapegoat.”

     “So...what are you going to do out there?” Wedge asked.

     “They have a pretty kick-ass military out there,” Tycho replied. “Maybe I’ll try to join them.”

     “There are enough of them for a military?”

     Tycho smirked. “Enough of them for an empire. Though they don’t call it that.”

     Wedge shook his head. “Just when I thought I knew it all...”

     Tycho laughed. “We’ll never know it all, Wedge.”

     Wedge looked up and gave him a sad smile. “I’ll miss you, Tycho. You’ll always be welcome back here, you know.”

      “I know. And I’ll miss you too. But I have to do this. I have the chance, finally, to have the life I thought I would have seven years ago. Or at least, I have the chance at something like it. I can’t turn my back on that.”

     “I know. Maybe someday I’ll understand too.”

     Tycho nodded and held out his hand. “Well then, it’s been a pleasure, Commander Antilles.”

     Wedge pushed Tycho’s hand away and stood, then rounded his desk to give Tycho a hug. “I can only say the same, Captain Celchu.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The moment they entered hyperspace and Tycho didn’t need to be sitting at the controls every second, he pushed himself out of the pilot’s seat and wandered into the living quarters of their shuttle. He wasn’t sure of the details, but Thrawn had somehow managed to buy them a decent little shuttle with plenty of room for both of them. It even had two small sets of quarters, with their own narrow bunks and just enough space between the bunk side and the opposite wall for an average human male to change his clothes. Tycho had mixed feelings about that – on the one hand it was nice to know he wasn’t going to get thrown right back into sharing a bed with Thrawn, but on the other hand he was worried that the current arrangement would make it too easy for them to avoid each other.

     He found Thrawn sitting at the tiny dining table in the galley, reading something on his datapad. Tycho sat down across from him and watched quietly, until Thrawn’s glowing eyes darted up to look at him. The Chiss raised one eyebrow.

     “Um...hi,” Tycho ventured.

     “Hello,” Thrawn replied.

     “So, how are you?”

     “Wondering if perhaps I should have purchased a larger vessel.”

     Tycho shrugged. “Nah, this one will be fine. I mean, it’s not fancy or anything, but it’s cozy.”

     “Cozy?”

     “Yeah.”

     “...I do believe all that time you spent in prisons and X-wing cockpits may have altered your sense of space,” Thrawn replied.

     “Wouldn’t surprise me,” Tycho said. “...This is going to be really awkward for a bit, isn’t it?”

     “Astronomically so,” Thrawn said.

     “But we made it work once, right? So we can make it work again, right?”

     “There is the distinct possibility of a positive outcome,” Thrawn said.

     Tycho sighed. “You sound like a computer. Who the hell have you been practicing your Basic with?”

     “Politicians, officers, the other Grand Admirals...”

     “Well that explains it then,” Tycho said.

     Thrawn raised an eyebrow. [Criticize my Basic all you want, darling, but how is your Cheunh?]

     “...Yeah, I understood like one word of that,” Tycho said. He could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment.

     Thrawn looked stern for a moment, but then his expression softened and he smiled a little. “It’s been seven years and the only person you ever spoke that with was me. It would have been a miracle for you to stay proficient.”

     Tycho sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m going to have to learn again, aren’t I?”

     “Oh yes. To a much higher level than you knew before, too.”

     “What am I going to _do_ with myself once we get to Csilla?” he asked Thrawn. “What _can_ I do?”

     Thrawn leaned back in his seat and pondered. “You’re an excellent pilot. Why don’t we try to get you into the academy so you can fly again?”

     Tycho wrinkled his nose a little. “Back to being a cadet?”

     “It will be no worse for you than when I had to do it,” Thrawn pointed out.

     “True. Well... I guess if that’s the only way...”

     “There are other options,” Thrawn said. “My brother could probably get you a position as private pilot to someone in the government or in the defense hierarchy.”

     Tycho shuddered. “No, no, let’s just...academy it is, okay? I’ll be good, I promise.”

      Thrawn laughed. “Then your language lessons start tomorrow. You’re going to need them.”

     “Yes...” Tycho frowned a little. “Speaking of your brother, does he know you’re coming back?”

     “No,” Thrawn shook his head. “But if you programed the coordinates the way I told you, we’ll be dropping out of hyperspace for a course change within 24 hours, and I intend to call him with a warning then.”

    “Think he’ll be happy to have his little brother back home?”

     “Sure, if I don’t come flying in with an army of Star Destroyers breathing down my neck.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Over the next several days, they settled into a routine. Thrawn got up first and would make breakfast, then he would go wake Tycho up. They would eat quietly (Tycho wasn’t much of a morning person anymore), then clean up and dress. Tycho would make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with their ship or the flight path and Thrawn would plan out some language lessons. They studied until lunch, which was usually leftovers from dinner the day before, and then they would just talk and try to get reacquainted. Tycho usually made dinner, and then they would either talk more or go their separate ways. Sometimes, one would visit the other’s small room and they would stay up talking until the early hours of the morning. Tycho was pleased to note that the things he had liked about Thrawn seven years ago didn’t seem to have changed as much as he had feared. Thrawn had become a bit more serious and less optimistic, but Tycho didn’t see that as a problem. He saw it as the natural progression of someone who had seen and been through a lot, and Thrawn had certainly had his share of stresses in the time they had been apart.

     He wondered what Thrawn thought of him, but the Chiss remained tight-lipped on that subject and Tycho chose not to push it.

     Finally, they dropped out of hyperspace, and Tycho looked out the viewport at the ice-bound planet beneath them. “Csilla,” he said. “Home sweet home.”

     “We Chiss have no such saying,” Thrawn said, giving Tycho and amused look.

     “Well, to be fair I was being a little sarcastic,” Tycho replied. “It was a nice place to visit but living there is going to be tough for me.”

     “One potential crisis at a time,” Thrawn said as a rather angry-sounding burst of Cheunh erupted from their comm system. Tycho concentrated on piloting while Thrawn negotiated with the Chiss on the other end, and finally Thrawn was able to give him their landing instructions. Tycho piloted their shuttle along the exact course Thrawn told him, and within a few minutes they had landed in toe designated docking area. Tycho glanced out the viewport and noted that a group of Chiss in multi-colored robes had come to see them.

     “Look at that, it’s the rainbow brigade,” he said.

     Thrawn glanced out the viewport too. “My brother,” he said. “And it looks like Ar’alani? She looks so different...”

     Tycho didn’t get a chance to ask what looked different about her. Thrawn was already headed for the boarding ramp, and Tycho knew better than to keep the Chiss waiting. He scurried after Thrawn and followed him down the ramp.

     A Chiss dressed in yellow and grey, with a young girl trailing behind him, conducted a very formal greeting ceremony that Tycho could barely understand. Instead, he let his eyes wander around the landing area. Most of the Chiss were trying to go about their work while surreptitiously watching the new arrivals. A few caught Tycho watching and quickly averted their gaze, while others completely stopped working and stared openly at him. He noticed that the little yellow-clad girl was one of the ones who stared. He turned his attention to the Chiss behind the yellow-robed man. Thrass was definitely the one in burgundy. He looked older than Tycho remembered, but his resemblance to Thrawn as still striking. He thought he recognized the Aristocra he had told off on one of his first visits to Csilla. The others, though, he didn’t recognize at all. And then he saw the representative of House Inronkini.

     She was dressed in robes of copper-green and had let her hair hand loose down her back. Said hair was entirely white, though in Tycho’s estimation her face didn’t look nearly old enough for white hair. When she caught Tycho staring, one eyebrow twitched up just a tough and the corner of her mouth turned up in a small smile. Yes, that was definitely Ar’alani. Tycho suddenly understood why Thrawn said she looked different. With the white hair, she almost looked like a different person.

     Tycho suddenly became aware that the welcome ceremony was over and that Thrawn was trying to introduce him to people. “...orm’bintrano and his niece, Chaf’ees’aklaio,” Thrawn was saying to him.

     “...I’m sorry, could you repeat the first name?” Tycho muttered to him.

     “Chaf’orm’bintrano,” Thrawn said. “And his niece Chaf’ees’aklaio. You will be pleased to note that she is full Chiss and that your brother did not become a father at such a tender young age.”

     Tycho blinked at him in confusion. “What do you...Oooh...” He shook his head a little, suddenly remembering his wedding and how Skoloc had gotten cozy with a Chaf woman. “I didn’t think you would mind something like that,” he said.

      “I wouldn’t, but the Aristocra would and he made a point of mentioning it to me,” Thrawn replied dryly. “And of course you know my brother.”

     Tycho did indeed know Thrass, who had finally come over to greet them personally now that the official ceremony was over. He embraced Tycho and Thrawn in turn, saying something Tycho couldn’t quite catch all of. “He’s happy to see us?”

     “Oh yes,” Thrawn replied, grinning a little. “He assures us that our old room is waiting for us at his home.”

     “...he doesn’t know this is the first time in seven years we’ve seen each other, does he?” Tycho asked.

     “I did try to explain that, but apparently Thrass takes a bit of a ‘throw them into the pool and see if they sink or swim’ approach,” Thrawn replied. “And of course, Ar’alani, though I guess we can’t call her that now that she’s retired...”

     Tycho nodded a bit and sketched a bow to the woman as she approached. She smiled warmly at him and patted his shoulder. He just stood there awkwardly until Thrawn translated, “She says she understands it’s a bit late, but she offers her condolences about your family. She remembers them and even though dealing with that many humans at once was a bit stressful for her, she also has fond memories of them.”

     “Oh, well, thank...er...” Tycho paused. [Thank you,] he finally managed, which earned him a few murmurs of approval from the gathered Chiss. [I bet all that stress turned your hair white, didn’t it?] he teased.

      The murmurs of approval abruptly stopped, and Tycho could have sworn the temperature in the room dropped about thirty degrees. Thrass was rubbing his head, Chaf’orm’bintrano and the others were giving Tycho looks ranging from mild disapproval to utter disgust, and even Thrawn looked like he just wanted to melt in to the floor. Only Ar’alani didn’t seem to know what to make of it. Finally, she went with a long, drawn-out speech, mostly directed at Thrawn, and then motioned for him to translate for Tycho.

     Thrawn sighed. “She’s letting you get away with it because she’s sure you didn’t know,” he said, “but she thinks you _should_ know. She is...most Chiss never get white hair and she’s too young for it, really.”

     “So she went prematurely white,” Tycho said. “Was she sick?”

     “She didn’t say directly, but an illness or injury was implied,” Thrawn replied. “But more than that, it upsets her because...we have this belief that the children of a Chiss whose hair goes grey or white will be very successful.”

     “So?” Tycho asked.

      “So Ar’alani never had children.”   

     Tycho gulped a little. “And she wanted them?”

     “Again, she didn’t say directly, but it was implied that she did.”

     Tycho blinked at Thrawn, then at the other Chiss, and finally back at Ar’alani, who was regarding him with the same look of mild disappointment and distress he had seem on Wedge’s face when he had turned in his blaster and insignia. [I’m sorry,] he finally said. [I didn’t understand.]

     [I know you didn’t,] she replied. [But you do now. Your grace period will end soon. After that, watch your tongue.]

     Thrawn had to translate most of that for Tycho, but Tycho calmly accepted it and, at Thrawn’s urging, offered the retired Admiral a bow. After that, Thrass shooed the rest of the Aristocras and ushered Tycho and Thrawn to his personal speeder. They made it to Thrass’s home without further incident, and Tycho was grateful when Thrass told him that it was actually past dinnertime. The human stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed, hoping that a good night’s sleep would erase the drama of the day from his mind.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

 

      Tycho had thought (and hoped) that he and Thrawn would get to spend at least a few days together on Csilla, settling in and getting used to life on the Chiss homeworld, but that just wasn’t in the cards for them. He woke up late the next morning to find a single young Chiss woman waiting for him in the dining room, and the moment he entered she bustled around setting out his breakfast for him. Tycho couldn’t tell if she was a relative, a friend, a cadet from the military academy, or something else entirely, and he decided that he didn’t dare try to communicate with her, so he just nodded a bit and sat down to eat. She disappeared into the kitchen and he could hear the sounds of her working in there, but other than that the house was silent. When he finished eating, he brought his plates into the kitchen (which just seemed to irritate the Chiss woman), then went in search of Thrawn or Thrass. He quickly found that neither of them were home.

     Tycho puttered around the house by himself for the rest of the day. Thrass came home first, in the mid-afternoon. He made a valiant effort to chat with his brother-in-law, but as Tycho barely spoke Cheunh anymore and Thrass still couldn’t speak Basic they didn’t get very far. He understood when Tycho asked where Thrawn was, but Tycho didn’t understand the answer at all, so even that attempt at conversing was fruitless. Thrawn himself arrived home a few hours later, just in time for dinner, and Tycho was surprised to see him dressed in a black military uniform.

     “Where have you been?” he asked.

     “High Command wanted to see me,” Thrawn replied. “And by ‘see me’ I mean they wanted to debrief me on my time in the Empire.”

     “Well that’s a lot of material to cover.”

     “Why do you think I was gone all day?” Thrawn replied grimly. “The good news is that I have managed to convince them to leave me stationed here, on Csilla, for the time being. But that won’t last forever. They would rather put me back on the front lines or at least assign me to a teaching post at the academy.”

     Tycho nodded a little. “...I was hoping we would have some time off before you had to jump into those things here.”

     “As was I, but that’s not how Chiss do things.” Thrawn rubbed his head a little as the woman Tycho had seen that morning brought him some soup. “They’re also trying to figure out what to do with you.”

     “What do you mean, what to do with me?” Tycho asked.

     Thrawn paused to eat some soup, then said, “I had to tell them about you. They were very worried you would leak information about us to the outside galaxy. Or something like that, I think it was just typical Chiss xenophobia at work. But anyway, they know you’re a pilot and they really want you where they can use you. But since you don’t speak Cheunh fluently, it makes figuring out what to do and where to put you very difficult.”

     “I can learn again.”

     Thrawn smiled a little. “I know you can, and I’m going to help you as much as possible. But it’s going to take time. And unfortunately during that time, I’m not always going to be around because I still have duties to my people.”

     Tycho sighed and nodded. “It’s just...we have so much work to do on our relationship.”

     “I know. But what kind of relationship would it be if it depended on us being together all time time?”

     “True.” Tycho finally tried a bit of his soup. “...This is actually really good.”

     “Thank the Force you like Chiss cooking, you’re going to be eating a lot of it from now on.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn was still home when Tycho got up the next morning, and he was a bit surprised to see Thrass and Ar’alani both sitting in the dining room with Thrawn. After a few moments of embarrassed stammering and a pointed eyebrow-raise from the former Admiral, Tycho scurried back to his room to put some proper clothing on before returning to the dining room.

     “I hope you’re going to tell me what’s going on,” he said to Thrawn.

     Thrawn nodded a bit and motioned to Ar’alani. “Meet you new tutor in all things Chiss.”

     Tycho blinked at her for a second, then looked back at Thrawn. “But I thought you would teach me.”

      “I will, as much as I can. But I’m going to be out of the house a lot. Plus I’ve been away from my own culture for a long time. I have forgotten things.” He grinned a little. “Ar’alani is bored with being retired and wants something to do.”

     “So she’s going to try to turn me into a Chiss?”

      “As much as possible, yes,” Thrawn replied.

     Tycho eyed her again. She just smirked at him a bit, and he saw a bit of a sparkle in her eyes that didn’t come from the room’s lighting and definitely wasn’t part of their normal glow. “Oh, good,” he said, doing his best to sound cheerful. “Looking forward to it.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Over the next several weeks, they fell into a regular schedule. Thrawn was usually the first to wake up, and he would come get Tycho so they could have breakfast together before Ar’alani showed up. When she arrived, that was usually Thrawn’s cue to leave for work, and Ar’alani would settle down at the dining room table with Tycho to work on his Cheunh. Tycho was surprised that she was actually able to teach him without even speaking any Basic herself. He wondered if she had ever taught before, because she was quite good at it. Within a few weeks, she had him reading short texts about Chiss history and culture. They were clearly written for kids, but Tycho was just relieved he could read them to begin with.

     When she wasn’t teaching him Cheunh, she was teaching him practical things, like cooking and manners. Occasionally she would take him out in public, and Tycho always felt like he was being tested at those times (probably because she was in fact testing him). Finally, one day, the biggest test yet came.

     [Get dressed,] she said to him. [In something nice. We’re going to lunch with some friends of mine and they’re all very curious about the human I’ve been teaching.]

     Tycho winced a little and went to dress, choosing a slightly shimmery blue tunic and some black pants. Ar’alani didn’t protest his choice, and they left for the café her friends had chosen as their meeting spot. Tycho immediately noticed that the place seemed more like a restaurant than a café to him, and seemed much nicer than any café he had ever visited, but then, he had never gone to the kinds of places a retired Admiral could afford either.

     He followed her and she wove her way through the tables to a round one in the back corner of the room. Three other Chiss were already there – two men and a woman who looked substantially older than Ar’alani. [The retired officers’ club,] she muttered to Tycho. [The woman is a retired General, as is her brother, and the remaining one is a retired Admiral like me.] She nudged Tycho to a seat and sat down beside him.

     At first, Tycho tried to keep track of the conversation, but by the time their lunch arrived without a single comment being said about or to him, he gave up and chose to focus on eating instead. He wanted to ask Ar’alani what it was they were eating, but decided against it when he couldn’t find a good break in the conversation she was having with the other Chiss and chose instead to just leave it alone. He ate as quietly and neatly as he could, observing the Chiss around him and copying them when he didn’t know what a food was or how best to eat it.

     Finally, when lunch itself was finished and they had been presented with a pot of spicy, milky Chiss tea and a tray full of desserts, Tycho decided he could show off a little. Thrawn had long ago taught him the proper way to serve tea and he was quite sure he remembered it. He took charge of the teapot before anyone else could even look at it and deftly poured five cups of tea, which he distributed according to his best guess about the relative rank of those gathered – the older woman first, then the two men, then Ar’alani since she had invited him, and then Tycho himself. He tried to ignore the four pairs of glowing eyes burning into him as he worked.

     When all of the tea had been distributed, the older woman took a small cake for herself and set it on her saucer, then leaned back, holding the delicate teacup in both hands as she studied Tycho. [How marvelous, Iara,] she said. [He’s almost civilized. Did you manage to teach him this in such a short time?]

     [I have never taught him anything having to do with tea,] Ar’alani said. [Mitth’raw’nuruodo must have taught him that.]

     [That is something he would do,] one of the two men replied, and Tycho got the distinct feeling he wasn’t nearly as approving as the woman. [He always did like to push the boundaries. Though I don’t think he ever pushed them this far when he was last here.]

     [Honestly, Inronkini’ar’alani,] the other man said, his voice much deeper and more gruff than that of the first man’s, [whatever possessed you to take on this...project? Are you really suffering that much boredom in your retirement? I’m sure something more useful could be arranged for you. Perhaps a consultancy position with High Command, it would be a pity for your talents to go to waste on something like this.] He waved a hand dismissively at Tycho as he finished.

     Tycho bristled, but before he could say anything, Ar’alani replied, [Teaching him is rather enjoyable. I never had children of my own and in many ways, he is no different than a small Chiss child at this point. He learns faster, of course. Being an adult, he can understand things more quickly and can learn quite effectively from direct instruction.  Besides...say all you want against Mitth’raw’nuruodo, but we are lucky to have him back. However, it would be foolish of us to assume he would choose to stay if his husband was unhappy here or failed to integrate into our society.]

     [He is a _human_ ,] the woman spat, glaring at Tycho as though he had personally done her some grievous wrong. [How much can he possibly integrate? They’re all barely civilized. Trying to turn him into a Chiss would be like trying to turn excrement into a firegem.]

     [Did she just compare humans to poop?] Tycho finally asked Ar’alani. For the moment, he didn’t care if he was using grown-up, formal words. He just wanted to know if he had heard correctly. When Ar’alani nodded in response to his question, he scowled and turned his attention back to the elderly Chiss woman. [Now look here,] he said, [you have no right to talk about my people that way when I bet you haven’t even _met_ any of them but me. And how dare you speak poorly of Thrawn or look down on Ar’alani here for teaching me. As far as I’m concerned they both have more dignity and maturity in in a single hair than you three have put together, because even though they both used to think like you, they actually learned and got over it. And guess what? The rest of you Chiss are going to have to too, because the rest of the galaxy isn’t going to ignore you forever and when they come knocking you’ll either get caught by surprised because you know squat about them _or_ you’ll have wised up and actually _learned_ from people like me and Thrawn and the whole process of contact will go a lot more smoothly.]

     He glanced at Ar’alani to see if he had managed to get his point across. She didn’t look directly at him, but as she raised her tea cup to take a sip she directed a smirk and a quick nod in his direction. Their lunch companions, though, didn’t take so kindly to his words.

     [How _dare_ you speak to us like that, you disgusting _moactan teel_ ,] the deep-voiced man snarled. [You have no idea what you’re dealing with. And you clearly have no respect for authority.]

     Tycho didn’t know what a “moactan teel” was, but he didn’t particularly care either. He knew enough to tell that it wasn’t nice. [I dare because I don’t have respect for xenophobic jerks who are so wrapped up in their own little lives that they can’t see how much their own attitudes hurt,] he countered. [And _you_ have no idea what _you’re_ dealing with here because you don’t know the last thing about me. I doubt you even know my name or where I’m from, just that I’m human and that you think I’m beneath you because of that.]

     The man opened his mouth to speak again, but Ar’alani held up a hand to stop him. [I don’t think we’re going to gain anything else buy arguing more,] she said. [But I do believe that Tycho has a point. So far, the order Mitth’raw’nuruodo was so concerned the human Empire would carry out against us does not seem to have gone into effect, but we do not know if that will always be the case. Even if it never happens, the day _will_ come when we will be forced to look beyond the borders of our own Ascendancy and acknowledge what else is out there. I have long maintained that we are running towards that day with blindfolds on, and my experiences with Tycho and other humans have only forced me to accept some of the things Mitth’raw’nuruodo long argued for. My friends, please...I urge you to reconsider your positions, or I believe you will be left behind while the rest of the Chiss move forward.]

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “It was just awful and I really wish she had warned me first.”

     Thrawn and Tycho had been taking turns sleeping on the couch, since Thrass didn’t seem inclined to give them separate rooms and they still weren’t feeling up to sleeping in the same bed. Tonight was Tycho’s turn with the bed, but he wasn’t using it at the moment. He was too busy pacing around the room as he talked. Thrawn sat at the foot of the bed, watching Tycho move.

     “What good do you think a warning would have been, though?” Thrawn asked.

     “I don’t know...at least I wouldn’t have been blindsided. I still don’t know what she was trying to accomplish,” Tycho groused.

     “And she didn’t tell you?” Thrawn asked.

     Tycho sighed and plopped down beside him. “No. I could ask her, I suppose.” He scrubbed at his face a bit and leaned against Thrawn. “I’m getting so bored just sitting here all the time. I want to fly something again.”

      “I know, but the language barrier –“

     “I’m working on it,” he snapped. Thrawn tensed and let out a small growl, and Tycho shook his head. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. It’s just so _frustrating_. How the hell did you manage it?”

     “Basic is much easier to learn than Cheunh,” Thrawn replied softly. “Even for all of its quirks and idiosyncrasies.”

     Tycho tilted his head up to look at Thrawn. “Do you...maybe want to stay here with me tonight?” When Thrawn raised an eyebrow, Tycho added, “I could just really use some company tonight. I don’t just feel frustrated, I feel _lost_ and like I have nowhere to go, and I don’t really think this whole sleeping separately thing is helping us as much as we thought it would.”

     Thrawn considered Tycho’s words, then nodded. “Alright then, if it will make you feel better.”

     Tycho disappeared into the fresher for a few moments and Thrawn got comfortable in bed. When Tycho returned, he crawled in beside Thrawn. At first, they both just lay there stiffly, both staring up at the ceiling. But finally, Thrawn rolled onto his side and lightly placed a hand on Tycho’s forearm. Tycho didn’t react at first, but after a few moments he shifted so he could hold Thrawn’s hand in his own. He gave it a quick squeeze, and within minutes they were both fast asleep.


	34. Chapter 34

 

**Chapter 34**

 

     “I have good news and I have bad news.”

     At Thrawn’s announcement, Tycho looked up from his homework. “I don’t like the sound of bad news,” he said.

      Thrawn sighed and sat down in one of the empty chairs, folded his arms on the table, and leaned forward so his head was rested on his arms. He closed his eyes and just lay there for a second, then said, “High Command have finally decided I’m going to waste on the ground and have decided to reassign me to a ship.”

     Tycho dropped his pencil and leaned back in his chair, running his hands back through his hair. “Please tell me that’s the _bad_ news.”

      “It is. The good news is that my new assignment is part of the defense force around Csilla. But still, you won’t see me for days at a time and our ability to call each other will be limited as well.”

     Tycho just nodded in a resigned sort of way. As time went by, he was slowly giving up on things ever being the way he dreamed. This was just one more nail in the coffin, he supposed. He knew it was just a matter of time before floating in a ship over Csilla wasn’t good enough for Thrawn’s superiors and he would be shipped off to who knew where, to fight their battles for them. And Tycho would be stuck here, struggling to read children’s books and trying to figure out the secret to the Inronkini family’s top-secret spicy sauce mix, or whatever other tasks Ar’alani decided to set for him.

     “This isn’t going to work, is it?” he finally asked.

     “Well it’s not the ideal,” Thrawn agreed. “...Are you saying you wish to return to the Core?”

     Tycho considered, then shook his head slowly. “No. I just...feel like I’m not getting anywhere in my studying and our work on our relationship is so slow and now you’re not even going to _be_ here most of the time...what are we doing to do?”

      “Ar’alani told me she thinks you’re almost ready to train in the claw craft,” he said. “Once you’re trained you could be assigned to my flagship.”

      “And how long will _that_ take?” Tycho asked sourly.

      “Claw craft training usually takes about a year. But they’re based on the TIE fighter design, so it might not take that long for you to learn.”

     Tycho sighed and poked at his homework. A year. He wasn’t willing to get his hopes up by assuming it would take him less time. He was going to be separated from Thrawn again for _a year_. “Why can’t something go right for a change?” he muttered.

     Thrawn reached over and took Tycho’s hand. “It will,” he said quietly. “We just have to give it time.”

     Tycho jerked his hand away and threw his homework aside, sending the pages flying. “Well you know what, I’m sick to death of just ‘giving it time,’ alright? I’m sick of everything. I’m sick of sitting around here useless all day and reading children’s books and waiting for you to come home only to tell me shit like this! I’m sick of people not trusting me because of things I can’t even control and I’m sick of Ar’alani using me as a lesson for her asshole peers. I’m sick of getting stared at every time I so much as look outside. I’m sick of e _verything!_ ” By the time he got to the end of his rant, he was shouting as he paced around the room, arms waving to emphasize his points.

     Thrawn sighed and closed his eyes, bowing his head so that when he opened them again he was looking down at his hands in his lap. “What do you want me to _do_ , Tycho?” he finally asked. “Do you want me to take you back to the Core? Because I will. I really will, if that’s what you want and that’s where you’ll be happiest.”

     “I already _told_ you I want to stay here,” Tycho snapped.

     “Well it doesn’t sound like it,” Thrawn snapped in return. “You sound miserable. I don’t like our new situation either but it is what it is and we can either learn to deal with it or we can give up. Those are the choices.”

     “You could leave the military and find something else to do,” Tycho countered.

     “My people need me,” Thrawn said.

     “Screw them, _I_ need you!” Tycho shouted.

     “ _And you damn well have me!_ ” Thrawn roared in return, jumping out of his seat so fast that it just fell behind him. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not leaving? This is an assignment that keeps me away from home sometimes, nothing more. I’m not actually _going_ anywhere.”

     “Yes you _are_ ,” Tycho countered. “You’re going to your damn flagship and leaving me here with your brother and Ar’alani all the time.  I’ll see you what, once every week? Once every ten days? Not every day, anyway.”

      Thrawn glared at him. “So what would you have me do? Leave the military?”

     “Yes,” Tycho said. “There’s got to be something else you can do.”

     Thrawn shook his head. “I will not do that.”

     “No?”

     “Never?”

     “No.”

     “Not even for me?”

     “Not even for you.”

     Tycho took a step back and shook his head. “Once, long ago, you promised me you would give up anything for me.”

     “That was over seven years ago,” Thrawn replied. “Things change. You have changed. I have changed.”

      “Obviously,” Tycho said. He looked around the room a bit, then bent down to pick up his scattered papers and shuffled them into a neat pile, which he set on the table before turning to leave the kitchen.

     “Where are you going?” Thrawn asked.

     “No idea,” Tycho said. “Somewhere not here. I need to clear my head.”

     Thrawn followed after him. “When will you be back?”

     “Who knows?” Tycho replied as he pulled his coat on. “But you’re so keen to leave me for your damn ship, why do you care?” Before Thrawn could answer, Tycho yanked the front door open and disappeared into the street.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Ar’alani hadn’t been expecting company that night, so when the cadet came to tell her someone was at the door, she scurried around for a few minutes trying to tidy up a little before just giving up and following the cadet to the front door herself. It was a little rude to not invite an unexpected visitor in, but she had long ago decided that she was entitled to being a bit eccentric. If she wasn’t comfortable having someone in her house, she shouldn’t be required to let them in, especially when they showed up unannounced. She intended to see what her current unexpected visitor wanted and to send them on their way as soon as possible.

     She wasn’t expecting to see Tycho in the entry hall.

     [Tycho...what are you doing here?] she asked.

     [I argued with Thrawn and I had to get out of the house,] he said.

     Ar’alani stared at him in shock. [He kicked you out?]

    [No...is that what I said?] he asked.

     She shrugged a little. [The words you chose implied it. But somehow I don’t think you’re here for a language lesson.]

     [No...could I stay overnight? Or at least for a few hours?] he asked.

     Ar’alani nodded and motioned for him to follow her. [Of course.] She lead Tycho into the living room, directing her cadet helpers to bring him some food and make up one of the guest rooms for him. [What brought about this argument?] she asked when they finally settled into the living room.

     Tycho picked at one of the pillows on his chosen couch while he tried to explain. [I’m just...frustrated with everything. It’s hard being a human here. I feel like I’m not doing anything. I’m just dead weight that you and Thrawn and Thrass have to cart around because I can’t even take care of myself or work. And now he’s being sent to a ship again and I’m not going to see much of him.]

     Ar’alani frowned a little as she processed what Tycho said. [Ah,] she finally said, [you mean his assignment to the _Springhawk_. It’s one of the ships in the defensive formation around Csilla.]

     Tycho shrugged. [Doesn’t matter. He might as well be going away entirely.]

     [What is it you want from him?]

     [Just to be around more. Sometimes I feel like I barely know him anymore.]

     She sighed sadly and nodded. One of the cadets brought a tray with tea and snacks to them, and she waited until he left before speaking again. [I argued with High Command about putting him back on the front lines,] she said. [I understand that you two need more time. But Chiss aren’t very sentimental, especially not the ones who make it to a position with High Command. They only see the wider picture, what we as a people stand to lose or gain by placing one particular Chiss somewhere. And as I’m sure you know, Thrawn is a very special Chiss. In the time he has been gone, we have had time to think about things and realize how right he was about certain issues. And now we’re facing threats, and we need his help in facing them.] She reached over to pat his shoulder. [I know that’s no comfort to you and doesn’t help you with your problems. But maybe it helps you understand some of the pressures he and the rest of us are facing.]

     [I just...what could you _possibly_ be facing that he can’t help you fight from here?]

     [Oh Tycho.] She shook her head, and Tycho could barely believe how sad she sounded as she spoke. [There are threats out there your people can’t even have nightmares about, because you have never faced anything so awful. I sometimes think that Death Star thing your Empire made wasn’t so bad. I know they used it on your people,] she paused to shake her head at him, hoping to stall his angry reaction, [but at least they didn’t even have time to suffer, or so I would assume. The things our enemies have done...they defy all explanation.]

      Tycho shivered a little. He had seen and experienced some awful things, and was sure Ar’alani had too. For her to be reacting this way to any threat gave him pause. [I still don’t understand why he needs to be on a ship, though,] he finally whispered.

     [Because if we leave him here, by the time there is an attack, we will lose precious time finding him and explaining the situation. If he’s on a ship in the battle zone, he is right there. We know that nobody can be everywhere. But at least this way if the Far Outsiders make it to Csilla, we have a better chance.]

     Tycho sighed and chose a snack to munch on. “I hate feeling so helpless,” he muttered in basic.

     [I know you do,] Ar’alani replied. Tycho’s head jerked up and he stared at her, shocked she had understood. She just continued on as though she didn’t notice, though. [But you won’t be helpless forever. I want you to begin claw craft training soon. I already have an agreement with some former subordinates of mine for your training. And next week, I think you should accompany me to High Command’s offices. You need a better grasp of the situation, I think. Perhaps it will help you understand better.]

     [...I spoke Basic and you understood it,] Tycho said.

     She grinned sheepishly. [You aren’t the only one learning new things, you know,] she said. [I think it’s time our people give up on hiding and learn some Basic. One of my projects right now is convincing High Command to include a Basic curriculum at the military academies, but it has been an uphill battle. I can’t really ask people to learn something I’m not willing to learn myself, though.]

     Tycho nodded a little. [Do you need help? I’m no teacher, but maybe I could help with materials or something.]

     [Please,] she said. [You should look through some of the things Car’das and Ferasi sent. I can’t even tell if it’s all accurate.]

     Tycho finished his first snack and sipped some tea. [I can look tomorrow, if you want.]

     [Of course,] Ar’alani said. She was going to have to dig the materials out of storage, but at least that little project would give Tycho something to do.

 

***    ***   ***

 

      Thrawn was so irritated with Tycho that he went to the _Springhawk_ the following day, instead of delaying his reassignment as he had originally planned. But Tycho was too busy helping Ar’alani to worry about it too much. It did hurt a little, especially since Thrawn had just sent him a terse message through a cadet rather than coming to say goodbye in person. Thrass did come for a visit, to make sure Tycho was still alright and to deliver some clean clothes so he wouldn’t have to wear the same thing over and over, but otherwise Tycho had no contact with his husband or brother-in-law for an entire week. At the end of the week, he had organized Ar’alani’s Basic materials into piles he thought were appropriate for different levels (his assumptions were largely based on what he did in his Cheunh lessons with Ar’alani) and had also been able to inform her that many of them were in a dialect of Basic most common on Corellia. He reassured her that that wouldn’t be a problem. He remembered that Wedge and Corran had both spoken Corellian Basic and that, with the exception of a few odd words here and there, everyone had been able to understand them with no trouble.

     About a week after he showed up on her doorstep, Ar’alani dragged him along with her to a tour of the High Command headquarters on Csilla. Most of the Chiss there were too engrossed in their own work to give the human a second look, and Tycho was quite grateful for that. Putting up with random looks from random Chiss had been tiring for him. Being in a place where people had better things to do than look at him was refreshing.

     Near the end of their tour, Ar’alani lead him into the central communications room, where dozens of Chiss were busy coordinating communications with and between the ships deployed throughout Chiss space. [Don’t your ships have ways of contacting each other that don’t involve bouncing messages through here?] Tycho asked her.

     [Of course they do,] she said, [but we set this system up to keep track of communications for records. It’s like...you don’t save an important datafile in only one place, right? You save it in several. That’s what this is like.]

     Tycho nodded and let his eyes wander around the room. He froze when he caught site of a holo of Thrawn, discussing something with a man in a white uniform. From here Tycho couldn’t tell if he was an Admiral or General, and he didn’t care either. This was the first time he had seen Thrawn in a week. He was both happy and irritated to note that Thrawn seemed healthy and well-rested.

     [Go on, you can get in line behind the General to say hello,] Ar’alani said, nudging Tycho in the back.

     [Wouldn’t that be awkward?] he asked.

     She shrugged. [No more so than anything else in your relationship so far,] she replied, grabbing Tycho’s arm and dragging him into position behind the General. She even tapped the man’s shoulder so she could interrupt and tell Thrawn not to sign off right away. Tycho tried to melt into the floor when she did that, but when those efforts failed he just resigned himself to a strained discussion. He could try to keep it short, at least.

     Finally, the General finished his discussion and stepped aside. He directed a short bow at Ar’alani, who returned the gesture while nudging Tycho forward. Tycho gulped a little and stepped into the holo transmitter’s range. The holo of Thrawn raised an eyebrow.

     “Tycho,” he said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

      “Ar’alani insisted,” he said. “She brought me for a tour today.”

     Thrawn nodded as though that made perfect sense to him. “Ah yes. This is in preparation for your flight training, isn’t it?”

      “I...don’t know, actually, she didn’t say.” He glanced back towards the woman, but she was busy discussing something with several officers and he didn’t dare interrupt her. “So,” he said, turning his attention back to Thrawn, “how are you?”

     “Busy,” Thrawn said dryly. “They changed everything here while I was gone and I am not pleased. I had everything set up perfectly when I left but they went and rebuilt my ship.”

      Tycho wasn’t sure if he should laugh at that or not, so he settled for a sharp cough. “Yes, I can see how that might be annoying,” he replied, just as dryly. “...Any idea when you’re coming down here again?”

     Thrawn tilted his head and gave Tycho a cool look. “Why does it matter?” he asked.

     Before Tycho could answer, an ear-splitting alarm wrenched the air. Tycho clapped his hands over his ears in shock and let out a sharp cry of surprise. He looked up at the holo of Thrawn, but within moments the holo was replaced by static interference. Tycho was looking around for something to do or somewhere to go when someone yanked one of his hands away from his ears and stuffed something in the ear canal. [Earplugs,] and unfamiliar male Chiss voice said in his newly-plugged ear. [They help filter out the alarm sound,] he added, shoving the remaining plug into Tycho’s hand before scurrying off to his assigned station. Tycho immediately stuffed the plug into his other ear and turned to find Ar’alani.

     [What’s going on?] he asked her, shouting to be heard over the blaring alarm.

     She motioned that he didn’t have to shout, then said, [We’re under attack. Something made it this far and now there’s a battle going on over our heads.]

      Tycho watched as a massive holographic display appeared in the center of the room, showing Csilla and everything in its airspace. He hunted for and quickly found the green blip representing the _Springhawk_ , only to see it swarming in tiny red blips. [What are they?] he asked the nearest Chiss officer. Ar’alani had abandoned him to go help the Admirals and Generals.

     [Far Outsiders,] the officer replied. [Looks like they’re trying to overwhelm us with their fighters again.]

     [Fighters? You mean like their version of claw craft?] Tycho asked.

      [Yes, exactly,] the Chiss replied.

      Tycho just nodded and remained silent for a bit. [Where’s the nearest hangar bay with claw craft in it?] he finally asked.

      [Two levels up and five sections to the east of here, why?] the officer replied.

     Tycho just waved at him and took off, dashing out the east door of the command center. Nobody noticed him at first, but he had just gotten through the door when he heard Ar’alani shouting after him. He ignored her, a task made all the easier by the fact that she was shouting in Cheunh and he found it much easier to block out speech in that language, and followed the officer’s directions to the hangar bay. He made it onto a lift well ahead of Ar’alani and the others chasing him, and the moment the lift doors opened onto the proper floor he dashed out towards what looked like the nearest ready room. The Chiss pilots who were scrambling to get their flight suits on stared at him in surprise, but when Tycho grabbed a flight suit and started pulling it on they decided to ignore him. Clearly, they thought that nobody but trained pilots would be in the hangar preparing to launch.

     Tycho was just leaving the ready room and heading for the nearest claw craft when his plan came to an abrupt end. Someone grabbed his arm from behind and he suddenly felt the nozzle of a blaster – or charric, or whatever the Chiss used – digging into the small of his back. [Stand down, Tycho,] Ar’alani’s voice said from somewhere behind him. [That’s an order.]

     [No way, Thrawn’s ship is under attack and I can help,] he said. He struggled against the person holding him, which resulted in the person moving the charric, but it just made two more Chiss step forward to help restrain him.

      [There’s nothing you can do,] Ar’alani said. [It’s too late. His ship was destroyed just before you left the command center.]

      Tycho stopped struggling and twisted his head around to face her. [You’re lying,] he said.

      But she shook her head, and even in his agitated state Tycho could see that she was upset. [Why would I lie to you about that?] she asked.

      Tycho allowed his Chiss captors to bring him to the nearest information display. This was a smaller, two-dimensional display of what was going on in the battle, meant to give the pilots and their commanders a quick overview of the situation before they took off. Tycho hunted for the _Springhawk_ on the display, but he couldn’t find it. [Escape pods?] he asked.

      [A few,] Ar’alani said. [Not all of them made it either. The few that did are landing now.]

      [Thrawn?]

      She shook her head. [We don’t know. We lost contact with him at the start of the battle, remember?]

      Tycho, Ar’alani, and the Chiss who had restrained him stood there watching the holo display as the battle continued. Eventually, the Chiss forces were able to drive the small force of attackers back, and eventually the attackers were destroyed. [They didn’t even run,] Tycho said.

     [They never do,] Ar’alani replied bitterly. [They don’t even value their own lives that much.]

     Tycho sighed and shook his head, then went back to hunting for information on the escape pods from Thrawn’s flagship. [What happened to the pods, I lost track.]

     Ar’alani relayed the question to someone in the command center, then relayed the answer to Tycho. [Most were destroyed. Two were picked up by other ships. Thrawn was not on them. Two more have landed, no word yet on who is in them, and one seems to be coming here to land. It should be here soon.]

      Tycho nodded and turned to stare fixedly at the only entrance to the hangar. A few claw craft entered and landed, then some small shuttles, and finally the escape pod appeared. Whoever was flying was either an inexperienced pilot or was badly injured, because the landing was one of the most unskilled Tycho had ever seen and for a few moments he was afraid the pod was going to topple over into neat row of claw craft beside it. But the pod came to a stable landing, someone inside it shut the engine down, and the side of the pod split open to reveal a rudimentary boarding ramp. A few Chiss staggered out of it and others in the hangar rushed forward to tend to them. Tycho took a few steps towards it, but he didn’t recognize anyone exiting the pod. Finally, it seemed that the last person had come out, and Tycho sighed. [Still no word?] he asked Ar’alani.

      [He isn’t at any of the other landing sites,] she said. [I’m sorry, Tycho.]

      [Who are you looking for?] a nearby pilot asked.

      [Mitth’raw’nuruodo,] Ar’alani replied.

      The pilot nodded, then pointed and asked, [Well, isn’t that him?]

     Tycho looked up. Sure enough, one more person had stumbled out of the pod, and was currently leaning against the side of it. He had his eyes closed and definitely looked worse for wear, but Tycho recognized him instantly. It was Thrawn.

     He darted towards the pod, and this time nobody tried to stop him. Thrawn was just opening his eyes and looking up when Tycho tackled him, and he fell back against the side of the pod with a hard thud.

      “I thought you were dead,” Tycho whispered. “They told me your ship was destroyed and then nobody could find you and I thought you were _dead_.”

      Thrawn blinked at him for a second, then finally wrapped his arms around Tycho. “I’m not dead yet. It’s going to take more than those ugly bastards to stop me,” he replied.

      Tycho sniffled and smacked his shoulder. “It’s not funny, I was _scared_ and I couldn’t even do anything about it.”

     “I know, I’m not joking,” Thrawn replied. “I’m glad you still care, though, I thought you didn’t anymore.”

     Tycho’s head jerked up and he stared at Thrawn for a second, then grabbed his face and pulled him into a deep, almost violent kiss. “Don’t you ever doubt me like that again,” he hissed. “I’ve been mad, yeah, but that never means I don’t care.”

     [Sir, we really need to get him to a med center now,] a Chiss medic said.

     Tycho and Thrawn just blinked at the man, and Tycho wondered when he had arrived, but Thrawn just nodded and threw a grateful look at the stretcher the medic had brought. “You can come with me,” he told Tycho. “But I think he had a point. I’m a bit worse for wear after that battle.”

     Tycho just nodded and grabbed Thrawn’s hand. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll be with you the whole time.”


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

     A little over a month later, Tycho stepped into the auditorium in the academy on Naporar for his first introduction to Chiss military life. Around him, thousands of Chiss who looked like they were in their late teens or early twenties milled about as they waited for the beginning of the meeting. Tycho eyed them warily. Thrawn had told him that while these Chiss would look only a few years younger than Tycho, most of them were in fact only twelve or thirteen standard years old. Tycho carefully worked his way through the crowd towards the stage where the various officers would be gathering for the greeting. He was hoping to be close enough to make out Thrawn’s face – he knew he would have no trouble picking Thrawn out of the crowd, but being able to make out his facial features would be comforting.

      He had made it most of the way there when someone grabbed his arm and started pulling him back. [You aren’t supposed to be so close,] Ar’alani’s voice said beside him.

     Tycho sighed. [Can’t I just pretend to be clueless and go with it this once?]

     She shook her head. [You can’t get away with that anymore. Your assigned spot is back here.] She stopped and pointed down at the floor, to a burgundy patch on the ground bearing a number and a name written in the complicated Chiss system.

      Tycho tilted his head a little as he looked at the patch. He recognized the number, of course. It was his official identification number. But the name...[So they finally settled on a Chiss name for me?]

       Ar’alani’s lips twitched, then she said, [Mitt’ycho’selchu.] Tycho raised an eyebrow at her. [Thrawn’s idea,] she explained. [A mangling of Chiss naming conventions if ever I’ve seen one, but he made it work somehow and nobody else could come up with a good argument against it, so we’re stuck with it.] She paused. [If you ever have children, their names are going to be terrifying.]

     Tycho chuckled a little and she grinned at him, then quickly reverted to a stern look. [I should be in the observation gallery, since I have no official standing here anymore,] she said. [Try not to do anything else that requires rescuing. Thrawn and Thrass and I can’t always be there for you.] With that, she disappeared into the crowd before Tycho could say anything else.

     He shook his head a little and poked at the patch representing himself with his toe. It was a bit difficult. His boots were brand new and nowhere near broken in yet, so they were still terribly stiff. He had spent the past three days walking around Thrass’s house in them and it still didn’t seem to have made a difference.

     Suddenly, the Chiss milling around Tycho scrambled to arrange themselves in neat rows. Tycho looked around curiously to see what was going on, and only then did he notice the officers filing onto the stage. They were arranged in order by rank, from lowest to highest, easily distinguished by the colors of their uniforms. Even from here, fairly far back in the room, Tycho could see that those in black far outnumbered everyone else. He counted four officers of high enough rank to be wearing white – probably two Admirals and two Generals, if he remembered Thrawn’s explanation of the day right – and eight wearing grey. One of those in grey was Thrawn. Shortly after the battle with the Far Outsiders of Csilla, Thrawn had received a promotion to a rank that roughly corresponded to Rear Admiral. He claimed that the grey uniforms for that rank were a new addition. Before, anyone at that rank would have just worn black. But Tycho was grateful for the change, since it gave him a better chance of picking Thrawn out of the crowd.

     He mostly tuned out the long speeches most of the officers gave, and only tuned back in at the mention of such practical things as roommate and training squadron assignments. Finally, the long string of speeches ended and the eight grey-clad officers lined up in front of the stage to pass out datacards to the waiting cadets. Tycho joined a line moving towards the officers on the right side of the room and managed to work his way into Thrawn’s line. Honestly, he had no idea if Thrawn had his datacard or not, but he figured Thrawn would just nudge him in the right direction.

     [Mitt’ycho’selchu,] Thrawn said when Tycho finally stopped in front of him. He put a blank datacard into his datapad and waited for it to finish scanning, then pulled it out again and offered it to Tycho.

     “You couldn’t have come up with a better name for me?” Tycho teased.

     “I probably could have, but that would have taken away all the fun of trying to make an Alderaanian name work in Cheunh. I think I did a damn good job, too,” Thrawn said. “I would hate to try to translate a name like Wedge Antilles or Luke Skywalker into Cheunh.”

      “Well, Wedge already had his name translated into Rylothean once, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind Cheunh.”

     Thrawn just raised an eyebrow a little and glanced at the line waiting patiently behind Tycho. [Your things are already in your new quarters, Cadet,] he said. [Your bunk has already been assigned. Your roommate will also be serving as your wingmate in the training squadron. The datacard also contains your orders for tomorrow morning.] He flashed Tycho a quick grin and added, “I’ll stop by later, when I’m off duty.”

     Tycho nodded and stepped out of the line, fished his small datapad out of his pocket, and slid the card into it. He had to stop and ask for directions to his new home, but eventually he found his room and slid the card through the lock to open it. Once inside, he paused long enough to note that his bag was already sitting on top of the bunk on the right. Apparently he hadn’t misheard Thrawn, and the Chiss military micromanaged its cadets’ lives down to the point of assigning them beds within their rooms. He shrugged and set the bag on the floor, then set to work making his bed with the plain grey sheets that were sitting at the foot of it.

     “You don’t not waste time.”

      Tycho frowned a little as he tried to parse the sentence, then looked up towards the door. A young Chiss cadet stood there, watching Tycho curiously. [...You must be my new wingmate,] he said.

      The Chiss’s face lit up like a Life Day tree and he literally bounced with glee. [You speak Cheunh!]

     [Why wouldn’t I?] Tycho asked.

     [You are human. Humans speak Basic,] the Chiss replied.

     [Well you’re Chiss and you just spoke to me in Basic,] Tycho countered.

     The young man looked a bit sheepish as he nodded. “I want to learn,” he said, switching back to Basic, “but...mmm...no good.”

     “ _How_ did you manage to learn any Basic at all?” he asked. His roommate tilted his head in confusion, and Tycho switched to Cheunh. [How did you learn Basic? I didn’t know anyone here could teach it.]

     [Oh.] He grinned. [I taught myself. My father is a merchant trader and travels a lot, so sometimes he would go outside of the Ascendancy and when he did he brought things back for me to study. Holovids and things so I could practice on my own. ...Your language is so strange.]

     Tycho laughed. [My Cheunh must be strange to you though, since I can’t pronounce everything right.]

     The Chiss grinned. [It sounds fine. You have a nice accent.]

     Tycho finally held his hand out. [I’m Tycho,] he said. [And you?]

     [Mitth’ora’kleoni,] he said. [Thorak, if it’s easier.]

     Tycho nodded. [Mitth?] he asked. [Are we related then?]

     Thorak tilted his head a little. [Don’t see how we would be, you’re human.]

     [Through marriage,] Tycho replied. [Though...my husband is trial-born to house Mitth, so maybe it doesn’t work the way I think it does...]

     Thorack laughed. [I’m a merit adoptive,] he said. [As are most of us Mitths in the military.]

     [Such a complicated system,] Tycho said. [I don’t think I’ll ever understand it entirely.]

     Any reply Thorak might have had was interrupted by a knock on the door. The Chiss cadet turned to open it and immediately snapped to attention. [Sir,] he said.

     [At ease, Cadet,] Thrawn said. [I’m just here to visit my husband.]

     Thorak stared at Thrawn, then at Tycho. [No _way_ ,] he said.

     Tycho laughed. [Thrawn, this is my new wingmate Thorak,] he said. “...He’s a merit adoptive of House Mitth, does that mean we’re related to him?”

     “Sort of. It’s complicated. We’re all kind of related to each other anyway and membership in a Ruling Family is largely symbolic for merit adoptives,” Thrawn said. He gave Thorak a stern look and said, [I do hope that outburst was directed at your wingmate and not at me, Cadet.]

     [Y-yes sir,] Thorak stammer. [I uh...forgot to do something um..elsewhere...] and before Thrawn or Tycho could stop him, he snapped a salute and scurried from the room.

     Tycho raised an eyebrow at Thrawn. “Do you have to be so hard on him? He seems sweet.”

      “I’m sure he is,” Thrawn said. “But as an officer it’s my duty to help turn both of you into proper Chiss warriors. And since he is actually Chiss, well...that kind of behavior would barely be tolerated out of you and you have the most obvious excuse for not knowing the rules of Chiss behavior. He has none.”

     Tycho nodded a little. “...could you at least cut him some slack when it’s just all of us in private?”

     Thrawn smiled a little and kissed him. “Alright, for you,” he said.

     The Chiss turned to go, but Tycho grabbed his arm. “How mean would it be for us to lock the door so Thorak couldn’t get in and just...have a little fun together?”

     Thrawn considered, then smirked. “Mean. But you two seem to be getting along so I’m sure he would understand.”

     Tycho gave him a wicked little grin and reached over to disable the lock on the door – pretty much the only way to keep his roommate out – and adjusted the lighting a little lower. “Then let’s have ourselves a little party to mark the launch of my career in Chiss space.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     [It must be hard for you to put up with all of this.]

     Tycho glanced up as his wingmate set his lunch tray down and plopped into the seat across from Tycho. [Eh, I’ll live,] Tycho replied.

     [Yeah, but...I mean, you were a famous and talented warrior where you come from and now here you are, stuck with people like me who don’t even know the ignition button from the firing button,] Thorak replied. [How do you stand it?]

     Tycho just blinked at him a bit. [Okay first of all, how do you know anything about what I did back home? Second, stop putting yourself down like that, you’re not the idiot you think you are. And third, it’s been a while, I could use the practice.]

     Thorak gave him a sheepish grin. [Your husband teaches my morning tactics class,] he explained. [So this morning I got bold and asked him about you. I think I annoyed him a little but he told me anyway. You used to be in Rogue Squadron.] He said the name with great reverence, as though the Rogues were clearly piloting gods.

     _Well, at least I know Thrawn listens to me when I ask him to be nice to people..._ [I was, yes. But these claw craft are based on TIE fighters, plus Chiss design elements, so there’s a learning curve.] He took a sip of his water. [Thorak, you have the makings of a good pilot. I really wish you had a bit more confidence in yourself.]

     The younger Chiss man shrugged a little. “I...have no reason for confidence.”

     [Your Basic is getting better. You couldn’t have said that last week,] Tycho pointed out. [Why aren’t you more confident.]

     Thorak looked around the room and waved a hand at their fellow cadets. “They are all...what’s the word...They are like my smaller brothers and sister. My age is bigger.”

     “Oh, you’re older than they are,” Tycho said. Thorak nodded, and Tycho continued, “But why is that a big deal?”

     Thorak pursed his lips and poked at his food as he considered. [I’m older so they think I’m stupid,] he finally said. [There must be something wrong with me since I’m fifteen and only just starting my training.]

      Tycho raised an eyebrow. [Well if they think that about you they must think I’m really off, being almost twice your age.]

      [No, because you were in another military before. This is just review for you, and learning the details of how the Chiss do things. To them, though, I have no excuse.]

     Tycho leaned a little closer and said, “But what do you think?”

     Thorak looked away. “I have no excuse,” he replied.

     “I think it doesn’t matter,” Tycho said. “You weren’t ready to join before. That’s okay. You’re ready now and you’re going to be an amazing pilot when we finish, and you’ll show them all how wrong they are to make assumptions about you.”

      Thorak smiled a little. [Do you have children yet?]

      Tycho shook his head. [No. And I don’t know if we ever will. Why?]

      [A pity. Your children would so lucky to have a father as accepting as you.]

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Aside from the trials and tribulations of learning to pilot the Chiss way, the next several months of Tycho’s life were calm. Just as he had suspected, Thorak started coming into his own as a pilot, which pleased Tycho. The young Chiss was fairly tight-lipped about where his lack of self-confidence came from, and though Tycho wish he would be a bit more open about it, he was just grateful that Thorak finally seemed to be gaining more confidence.

      About six months into his training, Thrawn appeared at Tycho’s barracks door, looking rather grim. Tycho let him in and was considering shooing Thorak, but Thrawn just shook his head. “No, he should hear this too.”

     Tycho and Thorak exchanged a look, and Thorak turned away from his desk to face Thrawn. Tycho and Thrawn sat on the edge of Tycho’s bed. “So what’s going on?” Tycho asked.

     “I’m sure your instructors have told you that the situation with the Far Outsiders has escalated,” Thrawn said. Tycho and Thorak nodded, so he continued, “What I don’t think anyone has told you is that in order to improve our defenses against them, we need more people on the front lines.” He sighed and rubbed his head a little. “Against my recommendations, High Command have decided to intensify the training of all current cadets and commission you three months ahead of schedule.”

     “Nobody has said anything about that,” Tycho said.

     “They wouldn’t,” Thrawn replied grimly. “You’re not supposed to know.”

     Thorak gasped a little. “You’re risking a lot to tell us.”

     “Frankly, it’s more important to me that you understand what’s going on over the next few months,” Thrawn replied grimly. “The good news in all of this is that I have already successfully requested that your training squadron be assigned to my flagship when you all graduate.”

      “I do like the sound of that,” Tycho replied, giving Thrawn’s thigh a quick squeeze. Thrawn smiled warmly at him. Thorak didn’t seem to notice the exchange. Indeed, he seemed completely lost in thought.

     Thrawn leaned closer to Tycho and whispered, “I have also arranged leave for you to join me for dinner tonight. And for dessert.”

     Tycho shivered a little and nodded. “I’ll meet you at the main gates, as always.” Thrawn grinned and gave him a quick kiss just below the ear before getting up and showing himself out. Tycho watched him go, then turned his attention back to Thorak, who was still lost in thought. He leaned over and gently poked his wing mate’s arm. “You alright?”

      Thorak stirred and nodded. “Yeah, fine. That is the word, right? Fine?”

     “It is,” Tycho confirmed. “But you don’t seem fine.”

     “Just...thinking about things,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to be ready in three months.”

     “You will be. Don’t worry. You’re a hard worker and a great pilot.”

     Thorak nodded, and once again seemed to disappear into his own thoughts.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn was right about the change in their schedule. Tycho’s instructors made the announcement the following morning, and Tycho and Thorak soon found themselves drowned in work. Tycho couldn’t get any time to spend with Thrawn anymore, and often barely even had time to chat with him on the comms between classes, homework, and sleep. Thrawn put up with it as well as he could, though. It was clear the lack of contact with Tycho irritated him, but he directed that irritation at the people who had decided to accelerate the cadets’ education rather than at Tycho.

     But before they knew it, graduation day arrived. Tycho was amused to find that graduation in the Ascendancy wasn’t that much different from graduation in the Empire. In fact, the main difference was that Chiss officers tended to prattle on longer than Imperial ones. But by the evening of graduation day, Tycho had officially been commissioned as the second in command of a squadron known as Black Spear, which in turn was part of a newly-formed force of three claw craft squadrons that went by the name of force Spike.

     “You’ll be commanding the entire force before long,” Thrawn said over dinner that night.

     “What makes you say that?” Tycho asked him.

     “The fact that even your superiors admit you can fly circles around them,” Thrawn replied. “Ar’alani pushed them to give you a higher rank right from the start, but politics prevented it.”

      “Yes. Can’t have a human graduating with a high rank,” Tycho said dryly. Thrawn just nodded. Clearly, Tycho had hit the nail on the head.

     Thrawn sipped some wine, then said, “The good news is, Spike has been assigned to my fleet. Black Spear is going to be stationed on my flagship. And regulations be damned, you’re moving in with me.”

     Tycho laughed. “My squad mates won’t be happy about that.”

     “Then your squad mates can all marry Admirals and Generals themselves.”

      Tycho shook his head a little. “Any word on our first mission?”

     “For now, we’re going to be patrolling around some of the outlying colonies. That seems to be where most of the problems have been lately.” Thrawn grinned. “Look at it this way, you get to see even _more_ of Chiss space than you ever wanted to.”

      After their dinner together, Tycho left to go back to his quarters long enough to pack his things in preparation for their move the next day. He didn’t even get all the way in the door before his wing mate grabbed his arm. “I need you to do something for me, Tycho,” Thorak said.

      Tycho blinked at him. “Alright...right now?”

      “Right now. Come on.” Thorak grabbed his room card from his already-empty desk and left the room. Tycho shrugged and followed him.

     The young Chiss led Tycho through halls he had never even seen before, going deeper into the pilots’ training center and barracks than Tycho had known was possible. “Where are we going?” Tycho finally asked.

     Thorak sighed and pushed a door open, waiting for Tycho to pass through before closing it behind them. “Well, I just...all of this excitement has been kind of hard to take, you know, and the closer we got to graduation the more _real_ everything got, and it finally hit me that hey, I was about to be commissioned as a pilot and that’s a really dangerous job. So when Thrawn came to tell us they were accelerating our training, I just...had to do something about it. That night I went and found my girlfriend and asked her to marry me. We agreed to do it the night of graduation. She’s going to the _Springhawk_ too.”

     “Wait wait,” Tycho said, holding up his hands. “I didn’t even know you were seeing someone.”

      Thorak blushed a little and nodded. “She’s one of the commandos who graduated today. Prard’ora’she. I don’t think you’ve met her.”

      “No, I would remember that name if I had,” Tycho replied. “Don’t you think you’re a little um...young, though?”

      “Of course not. We’re both legal adults. I’ve known her since we were kids anyway,” Thorak said. He dragged Tycho through a few more hallways, and they finally emerged in a small room where three more people were waiting – a rather nervous-looking young Chiss in a uniform Tycho didn’t recognize, and two equally young female Chiss. One was wearing the dress uniform of the commando units, and was standing at ease with her hands clasped behind her back. She turned as Thorak and Tycho entered.

     [You brought a human?] she asked Thorak.

     [He’s my wingmate,] Thorak said. [I told you about Tycho. Besides, his marriage has survived all kinds of things. He’s an excellent representative and witness for my side.]

     Tycho stared at Thorak for a second. [Wish you had warned me that would be my role before you brought me down here,] he said.

     Prard’ora’she gasped in surprise at his Cheunh, but Thorak was so used to it by now that he didn’t even notice. [I thought you would be okay with it,] he said, turning back to face Tycho.

     Tycho pondered. In truth, he was okay with it. [I am, but a little warning would still have been nice. I’m not exactly familiar with the short version of Chiss weddings.]

      Thorak laughed and waved his hand. [It’ll be just like yours!]

      [Mine was a six-day-long affair on Csilla that involved multiple rounds of gift-giving, feasts, symbolic deaths, processions...I’ve never seen the short version.]

     The woman standing with Thorak’s fiancé let out a low whistle, and even Thorak looked impressed. [I stand corrected,] he said. [Clearly you are more Chiss than I,] he added with a chuckle.

     Tycho just shook his head. “Tell me my duties,” he said. “I’ll do them.”

     “You’re my witness. You just stand here and tell them I’m here freely. And put your hand on my shoulder to signify your willingness to support me.”

      “I’m your wing, it would be hard for me to avoid that,” Tycho replied. The Chiss arranged themselves and Tycho took his place behind Thorak, resting his hand on the younger man’s right shoulder. The entire ceremony was indeed a truncated version of what he and Thrawn had had, with the officiant merely confirming that both Thorak and Prard’ora’she were there of their own free will and declaring them married. Even so, Tycho found it quite moving. It was clear even to him that the young couple were delighted. For once, he was glad he got dragged along on a surprise mission.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**   


     “So just like that, you got hauled off to be witness to his _marriage_?”

     Tycho nodded and gratefully accepted the glass of wine Thrawn offered him. “Yep. Just like that. Barely had any time to pack that night either since they both insisted I come celebrate with them.”

     Thrawn chuckled a little and settled onto the observation couch beside Tycho. “I’m not terribly surprised. There are stories of this kind of thing happening at times like this throughout history,” he said.

     “I just hope they didn’t rush into it.”

     “It doesn’t sound like they did,” Thrawn said. “At least, not by Chiss standards.”

     Tycho nodded and sipped his wine a bit. “So how are you feeling about things?”

     “Things as in us?”

     “Yes.”

      Thrawn drummed his fingers against the side of his own glass and watched the stars floating past outside. “Well, we’re better than we were last year when I got reassigned back to the _Springhawk._ Why do you ask?’

     “I just wanted to know if we were on the same page. We are, by the way.”

      Thrawn smiled and clinked his glass against Tycho’s. “Our anniversary is next month.”

     “Ye gods, already?”

    The Chiss man nodded. “I managed to get us a whole weekend of leave, unless of course some disaster or other happens and requires my attention.”

     Tycho laughed. “A whole weekend? Whatever happened to Chiss not understanding vacations?”

      “The species as a whole still has no clue, but it seems that one fine specimen of Chiss masculinity lived among humans for some time and adopted some of their customs,” Thrawn replied.

     Tycho laughed more and playfully punched Thrawn’s shoulder, which just earned him a cheeky grin and a chuckle. “How did you manage to convince your superiors?”

     “I threatened them with Ar’alani,” Thrawn said. “She may be retired but she still packs a punch. Many of my superiors now were here peers or subordinates before her retirement.”

     “I see,” Tycho replied. “And where are we going?”

      Thrawn shrugged. “Just back to Csilla. I know it’s not exciting, but we don’t have long and I do miss my brother too. I was hoping you wouldn’t be against sharing a few hours of our time off with him.”

     “Of course not,” Tycho said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

 

***   ***   ***

  

     Their big anniversary celebration the following month featured a rather large party, co-hosted by Thrass and Ar’alani at Thrass’s residence on Csilla. Of course, it was a party by Chiss standards, which meant a stuffy dinner party, but Tycho was just happy enough to have some time off to relax and consider other things. Besides, Thrass went out of his way to attempt some Alderaanian dishes, and Tycho felt it was very amusing to watch the Chiss guests trying to make sense of the foreign cuisine. Several of the pilots in force Spike had managed to arrange their schedules so they could drop by, congratulate the happy couple, and have a quick dinner. In the days that followed the party, every one would approach Tycho to say they had never realized how much he must be suffering in Chiss space without his own peoples’ food to eat, because after all, Chiss food and Alderaanian food were so different. A few even asked Tycho if he really could eat Chiss food or if he all the meals they had eaten with him had just been some elaborate hoax on his part, because they just couldn’t see how someone raised on Alderaanian food could stomach Chiss cooking.

     But before Tycho had to deal with odd questions about his dining habits, he had to get through the weekend. Of course, he was looking forward to all the time he would get to spend alone with Thrawn, but he also had some serious things to discuss, and the mere thought of bringing them up made him nervous.

     After their huge dinner party on their first night of leave, Tycho sighed and crawled into bed next to Thrawn, promptly snuggling up against him and kissing his cheek before resting his head on the other man’s shoulder. Thrawn grinned a little and tilted his head so his cheek rested on Tycho’s hair. Tycho reached up and playfully tried to tug the datapad from Thrawn’s hand. “Come on, that report can’t possibly be more interesting than me.”

      “It’s not, but I’m almost done reading it,” Thrawn said. “One of the conditions of my leave was that I would keep up to date on the reports coming through. Surely you can be patient for a few more minutes?”

      “Aww, fine,” Tycho said, letting out a deep sigh of mock-annoyance that earned him a chuckle from Thrawn. The Chiss let go of the datapad with one hand and gently rubbed Tycho’s thigh as he read. Indeed, it only took him a few minutes to finish, and he finally turned the datapad off and set it aside before turning onto his side and laying down so he could face Tycho.

      “Now then, my impatient darling,” he said, “what plans did you have for tonight that can’t wait?”

     Tycho bit his lip a little and reached up to run his fingers through Thrawn’s hair. “I was hoping we could talk about something, actually.”

     “Of course.”

     “Have you ever thought about kids?”

     Thrawn blinked at him. “You mean...about having them?”

     “Yeah.”

      The Chiss sighed a little and rolled onto his back, so he wasn’t facing Tycho anymore. “Of course I have. But...I think it would be impossible for us.”

      Tycho pushed himself up on his elbow and frowned down at Thrawn. “What makes you say that?”

     “Well,” Thrawn said, raising a hand and ticking off on his fingers, “we’re both males so that eliminates the biology option. I can promise you, no Chiss will ever be willing to have a human adopt their child. There’s always surrogacy,” he paused as Tycho wrinkled his nose, “but you are clearly not in favor of that option.”

     “It just...I see so much potential for abuse when you’re paying someone to be pregnant for you.”

      Thrawn nodded. “I would agree. Which eliminates our options, unless you want to move back to the Core and try our luck with adopting out there.”

      Tycho considered the option. It was tempting. He had always imagined that someday, in the future, his life would include children. It had definitely been something he looked forward to with Thrawn when they first married, though of course at that time he had understood it would be a long time before they could even consider it seriously. But lately he had just felt like continuing to wait wasn’t working.

     It seemed he would be waiting for a very long time as it was.

     “You are upset,” Thrawn said.

      Tycho nodded and wiped at his eyes. “Well, I mean, it was a dream, you know?”

      “But always a potentially impossible one. I knew that when I married you I was seriously limiting my own chances at fatherhood. And even if we had both been with women, there is no guarantee,” Thrawn pointed out. “Besides, we have our careers to consider. While it’s possible we could arrange our lives to accommodate a family, I think it would be very difficult, especially since you are so new and have no seniority.”

     “I know. I just...” Tycho sighed a little.

      Thrawn rolled over again and hugged him tightly. “Don’t give up just yet, love. This is the first time we’ve really talked about it. And I have never known a Rogue to give up on something so easily.”

     Tycho laughed a little and nodded against Thrawn’s shoulder. “Even a Rogue has to admit it when he runs out of options, though.”

     “Of course. But let me ask around a bit. We may not be as out of options as we think.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     But as weeks went by with no other options presenting themselves, Tycho became convinced that they were in fact out of options. The only one remaining was to move back to the Core – Tycho was sure that he could make headway with one of the many agencies that specialized in adopting out children of Alderaanian descent to Alderaanians – but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t want to go to the Core and really didn’t want to raise a human child among the Chiss anyway. Tycho felt that he had managed to find a place for himself in Chiss society, and that he had successfully surrounded himself with people who saw him as a person and not just as a human, but he had chosen that life for himself when he agreed to go with Thrawn and he had chosen it again and again whenever opportunities to go back to the Core had presented themselves. But Tycho knew he would never be completely a part of Chiss society. He could still see the looks that passed between Thrass and Ar’alani whenever he did something un-Chiss-like in their presence, and he knew he embarrassed his otherwise very open-minded Chiss wing mate on a regular basis. Not to mention that there were still Chiss who knew him very well but couldn’t believe that he could eat Chiss food, speak Cheunh, or do other very basic Chiss thigns.

      He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be a child growing up here, adopting Chiss attitudes and ideals and ways of thinking but never quite fitting in because you weren’t lucky enough to have been born Chiss. He had seen Chiss who didn’t look like typical Chiss being treated poorly, and though Ar’alani never actually said anything about it, Tycho had gotten the distinct impression that she wasn’t treated the same as her peers because of her prematurely white hair and the health issues that had caused it. No, bringing a fully human child into that environment wasn’t a good idea. So the one additional time Thrawn suggested that option, Tycho firmly said no and Thrawn never mentioned it again.

     One evening several weeks after the topic first came up, Thrawn was called back to Csilla to deal with some political business and he had Tycho assigned to be his pilot. In practice, this meant that once they arrived at Csilla, Tycho had all kinds of free time to himself. He decided to use the time to explore the libraries in the city, hunting for any information on the Far Outsiders that might help them in their battles (though much to everyone’s surprise, there hadn’t been all that many battles with the Far Outsiders lately). One evening near the end of their time on Csilla, Tycho came home late to find Thrawn and Ar’alani at Thrass’s kitchen table, working their way through a massive pot of Chiss tea and deep in discussion about...something. He listened for a few moments and tried to figure out what they were talking about, decided he didn’t understand and didn’t have the energy to try, and eventually just plopped down in the empty seat next to Thrawn’s and grabbed an empty mug. Thrawn kissed his temple and poured him some tea as Ar’alani passionately outlined her position on whatever it was they were discussing. Tycho just wrapped his hands around the mug, leaned against Thrawn, and closed his eyes in the hopes of getting a little rest while the two Chiss chatted.

      His efforts at relaxing were interrupted by Ar’alani’s voice. [Ask him,] she said to Thrawn.

     Tycho opened his eyes and looked at her, then raised his head to look a Thrawn, who seemed torn about something. [I don’t think-- ] Thrawn began.

      But Ar’alani cut him off. [ _Ask_ him,] she repeated firmly.

      [Ask me what?] Tycho said, looking back and forth between them.

     Thrawn sighed and rubbed his head a little. “Do you want the long version or the short one?”

      “Short, I was reading in the library all day and my brain is fried. All that obscure Cheunh I had to figure out.”

      Thrawn cleared his throat a bit, considered his words, then said, “Ar’alani has volunteered to carry a child for us.”

      Tycho just sat there for a second, then the words finally sank in and his head snapped up. “What? That’s crazy, she’s going to make herself sick again if she does that!”

     “That’s what I said. She insists that this is not the case.”

      Tycho shook his head. “I just...why would should even want to? That’s a lot of effort and stress to go through for someone else. I mean, there are people in this galaxy I would be willing to die for but like hell would I ever be _pregnant_ for them.”

      Thrawn relayed a slightly edited version of that to Ar’alani, who leaned forward a bit and fixed Tycho with a piercing stare as she talked. Tycho caught a few of the words and recognized most of the grammar forms she used, but realized that he had just hit upon an entire set of vocabulary his studies had failed to cover. “I have no idea what she said,” he told Thrawn when finished.

     “Well, basically, she said the chance to have her own children has been taken from her, but that doesn’t mean she can’t _bear_ one, so if she has the chance to help someone else’s dream come true she wants to.”

      “But if she can still have them, why doesn’t she just...go out and find someone and...have one?” Tycho asked.

      Thrawn considered the answer, then said, “She hasn’t addressed it directly, but I know how Chiss men can be about anyone they perceive as a damaged woman. And a woman as young as she still is, with white hair and a bad illness in her past, is most certainly damaged.”

      Tycho leaned back in his chair, momentarily stunned. “That’s disgusting,” he said. “And I honestly don’t care if you think I’m an ass for feeling that way.”

     “I quite agree with you,” Thrawn replied, giving Tycho’s knee a squeeze. “Listen, we don’t have to decide this right now. You look exhausted. Why not sleep on it?”

     “Yeah, let’s do that.” Tycho staggered to his feet, and barely made it to the bedroom before passing out.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     They didn’t talk about it again for almost two weeks, not even when Ar’alani made a surprise visit to the _Springhawk_ to review the troops in her capacity as adviser to the members of High Command. But Tycho was thinking about her offer all the time, weighing the pros and cons in his mind. Pro, she had volunteered. Con, he was worried about her health. Pro, she was Ar’alani and he did like and trust her quite a bit. Con, could this hurt her standing in Chiss society even more, especially if the child was half human? Pro, he knew she would want to be involved in the child’s life, and he had to admit that would be a good thing. Con, just exactly how were they going to...um...get her pregnant? He didn’t relish the idea of sending Thrawn off to bed with her, and didn’t relish the idea of sleeping with her himself either. But in the end, he felt that the pros outweighed the cons.

     Finally, one morning when he had the opportunity to have a private breakfast with Thrawn, he looked up and said, “I think we should take her up on her offer.”

     “Take who up on what offer?” Thrawn asked. He wasn’t used to Tycho talking that much in the morning.

     “Ar’alani. You know what I’m talking about.”

     Thrawn nodded slowly. “What made you decide that?”

     “Lots of things. But, I mean, she volunteered, right, and I trust her and you obviously like and respect her...and if she thinks it won’t make her sick, then...”

     Thrawn nodded again. “Shall I let her know then?”

      Tycho seemed relieved. “Yes please. It’s still a bit awkward for me. ...How are we going to um. You know...”

     “I am assuming it will involve cups,” Thrawn replied dryly. “And doctors. Extremely unromantic but far less awkward than the alternative.”

     “Yeeeeeah.” Tycho laughed. “Tell me how it goes.”

      As it turned out, he didn’t have to wait for Thrawn to tell him what Ar’alani’s reaction had been. When he went to pay Thrawn a quick visit that night, Ar’alani’s holographic image was already in Thrawn’s room, chatting with him and sending files for him to work on. As Tycho watched, Thrawn would do what needed to be done with a file, then save it to a datacard before moving on to the next. Thrawn looked up as Tycho came in handed him the datacard he was done with. “You need to sign all of these,” he said. “And the ones I’m working on too.”

      “I see she doesn’t waste time,” Tycho said.

      “She does not,” Thrawn agreed. “I’m okay with that though,” he added, giving Tycho a warm smile.

      Tycho had to agree, so he sat down beside Thrawn and got to work on the files. By the time they were finished and Thrawn sent them back to Ar’alani to do whatever she needed with them, it was well past lights out and Tycho was too tired to leave again. Ar’alani sad a quick goodbye and logged off her end of the conversation, and Thrawn helped a sleepy Tycho to bed for the night.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Within a few months, those hopes and dreams they had been so excited about seemed to be slowly dying. Despite everyone’s best efforts, Ar’alani never got pregnant. The first month it didn’t upset any of them. Ar’alani in particular just brushed it off, declaring that people rarely got pregnant on the first try. Besides, this meant they had that much more time to prepare for fatherhood and figure out how they were going to juggle military life with raising children. Thrawn and Tycho agreed. They had the same general reaction the second time around.

     But now, they had just heard that the fifth attempt had failed, and Ar’alani was sitting with them at Thrass’s kitchen table looking terribly dejected. [I’ve failed you both,] she said.

     [It’s not a failure,] Tycho said. [Sometimes these things happen.]

     Thrawn nodded. [It can be difficult,] he said. [Even I know that.]

     Ar’alani sighed. [I made you a promise,] she insisted. [A _promise_. This is your family at stake!]

      Tycho watched her as her face twisted into a look of great frustration and she balled her hands into fists, then decided that just this once, he could behave in a very un-Chiss-like manner around her. He got up and went around to her side of the table, leaned over, and wrapped his arms around her. For a moment, she went tense, then allowed herself to relax into Tycho’s embrace.

     [Listen,] he said, [this is just...even making the offer was above and beyond the call of friendship,] he told her. [You’ve tried so hard and it’s okay that it turned out like this, because it’s not your fault. I’m worried you’re going to hurt yourself if you keep going like this.]

     Ar’alani growled a little. [I’m not going to give up. Chiss don’t give up.]

     Thrawn leaned forward. [But Chiss also understand when it’s better to cut their losses,] he said. [I learned that from _you_. And Tycho has a point. This can’t be healthy for you.]

     [Just a few more tries,] she said. [Just a few. I know it’s going to work, we just haven’t reached the right time yet...]

     Tycho glanced up at Thrawn, who just sighed a little bit and gave a small nod. Tycho squeezed her shoulders. [A few. But not too many, okay?] he finally said. [I really am worried about you, and you know that we’re about to get sent off on a mission that’s going to keep us away for a few months. That’s the only reason we were able to get leave to come here this week...I don’t want you putting yourself through this kind of thing alone, alright?]

     She nodded and reached up to pat his arm. [Alright. I promise,] she said.

     After she left, Tycho sighed and shook his head. “She’s just going to keep going until she’s either pregnant or in the hospital from stress, isn’t she?” he asked Thrawn.

     “She is determined to do this,” he agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I’m beginning to think that agreeing to her offer was...misguided.”

     “We can’t go back now though,” Tycho said. “You heard the way she was talking just now.”

     “Maybe she’ll feel differently in the morning,” Thrawn said. “I won’t be upset with her if she chooses not to continue trying.”

     “I won’t be either. I mean, I’ll be disappointed...this was our one chance. But her health is more important than that.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Of course, they didn’t get to visit Ar’alani again for weeks, but whenever Thrawn or Tycho called to check on her she sounded perfectly healthy and told them not to worry so much. Finally, she told Tycho that she didn’t want to keep making them worried, and had simply chosen to continue trying on her own. Tycho reminded her that she had promised them to be careful and encouraged her to call them if she needed anything. Then he sighed and went back to fretting about her and trying to distract himself with other things, like working on his suggestions for upgrades to the clawcraft design and checking the reports coming in from the front lines of their defense against the Far outsiders.

     After three long months with no breaks, their mission to the outer reaches of Chiss space finally ended and Thrawn and Tycho returned to Thrass’s home on Csilla for a well-deserved break. They were curled up in bed the day after returning home when the door chime sounded. At first they ignored it, but then Tycho remembered that Thrass wasn’t home. He mentioned this just in time for the chime to sound again. Thrawn grumbled and rolled out of bed, found some underwear, and pulled it on to go see who dared to disturb them in the middle of the day. Tycho stayed curled up in bed, sure that Thrawn would be back in a few moments. But when Thrawn didn’t return right away, he got worried and rolled out of bed to go see what was going on.

     Thrawn was standing in the entrance hall, staring in absolute shock at their visitor. Tycho didn’t notice who it was at first because he was too busy tying his bathrobe closed, but then he looked up and gasped. There was Ar’alani, standing in their entrance hall...and while it was obvious she wasn’t very far along, it was also quite clear that she was pregnant.

     [What...] Tycho asked, stepping into the hall and going to stand beside Thrawn.

     Ar’alani’s cheeks turned a bit purple as she blushed. [I wanted to make sure it was true,] she said. [You know, these tests can be wrong sometimes, and the first few months are always the most dangerous. Besides, you were busy and I knew you would want to rush home right away when I told you. But I didn’t want to get your hopes up and then lose the baby or find out it was a mistake, so...] She glanced away. [I probably should have just told you right away.]

      [I’m sure we can forgive you for being cautious,] Thrawn replied, finally shaking himself out of his shock. [What do you know so far?]

      [Nothing,] she said. [I keep putting it off and just tell the doctors to make sure there aren’t any health problems. I thought you two should be there when I found out anything else.]

     [What could they even know at this point?] Tycho asked.

     [How many, and the sex,] Thrawn replied. [Possibly also the father...I’m sure they could tell a full Chiss from a half Chiss at this stage.]

     Ar’alani nodded. [I believe so,] she said. [The things medical technology can accomplish are astounding. I have an appointment in a few hours, if you want to come and find out. Though I see you two already had plans for the day,] she added wryly, raising an eyebrow at their state of undress.

     Tycho laughed. [Plans can change. I’ll put on some proper clothes and we can all go to lunch or something before you appointment.]

     The waiting room at the doctor’s office was mostly empty when Thrawn, Tycho, and Ar’alani arrived later that afternoon. Only a lone Chiss man waited there, and he eyed the trio with suspicion until both Thrawn and Ar’alani shot him sharp glares. Then he suddenly became very interested in the potted plants lining the nearby windowsill. Tycho chuckled a little and clung to Thrawn’s arm. After a while, the nurse came for Ar’alani, and though she was reluctant to let Thrawn and Tycho into the exam room with her, she eventually capitulated under Ar’alani’s stern gaze.

     Tycho didn’t know why, but he was surprised to see that the doctor was a woman too. She was a much older Chiss, with a few grey hairs among the black, and her face looked much older than Ar’alani’s. She studied Thrawn and Tycho for a moment, then said, [I see you brought company today. The fathers?]

     [Yes,] Ar’alani said as she made herself comfortable on the exam table. The two men settled into chairs at her side.

     The doctor began her work and, for the most part, ignored the two men. [Will you actually be finding anything out today?] she asked Ar’alani.

     The former Admiral turned her head to look up at Tycho and Thrawn, who exchanged a slightly panicked look. In the shock of discovering they were only a few months away from becoming parents, it had never even occurred to them to discuss what, if anything, they wanted to know about their offspring before the birth. Tycho finally cleared his throat and said, [Let’s start with the number. I honestly don’t mind either way about anything else.]

      Thrawn tapped his chin a little, then said, [I am curious about the sex and parentage,] he finally said. [If only because any half-Chiss child will face extra challenges from the very beginning and we should be prepared to deal with that.]

     The doctor didn’t seem too thrilled at the idea of a mixed baby, but she managed to keep her face neutral enough that Tycho just couldn’t work up the energy for so much as a frown in her direction as she got to work. He felt that he was doing a fine job of putting forward a relatively stoic, Chiss-approved face, until Thrawn grabbed his hand and squeezed. Tycho glanced over at his husband, to see the Chiss man staring rather fixedly at the fuzzy holo display currently being produced by the medical scanning equipment the doctor was using. He turned when he noticed Tycho looking and gave a small, tense smile. Tycho responded by squeezing his hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of Thrawn’s hand. Suddenly, the static dissolved into an image, though as far as Tycho was concerned the image was just as comprehensible as the static had been.

     The doctor fussed for a few more moments, moving a small hand-held scanner over Ar’alani’s belly, then nodded. She explained what they were looking at in Cheunh, but all Tycho caught of it was “boy,” “girl,” “human,’ and “Chiss.”

     “What did she say?” he whispered to Thrawn.

     “Twins,” Thrawn whispered back. “A boy and a girl, and she thinks the girl is half-human. But she could be wrong and we won’t know for sure which of them is half human until they’re born.”

     Tycho just stared, trying to make sense of the image. This was, after all, his first look at his children, and as far as he was concerned it was one of the most amazing moments of his life. For a moment, he was able to forget that he was the only human in the room, the general feeling of strangeness that had permeated the whole situation for him since Ar’alani had first volunteered to do this for them, he even forgot he was clinging to Thrawn’s hand.

     He was going to be a father, for real, and that realization turned his entire universe upside down.

     “Can we name one of them for one of my relatives?” he finally asked. Why that was the first question he thought of he didn’t know.

     “That might be tough with Chiss naming conventions,” Thrawn replied. “But I’m sure there’s a way to make it work. Even if it means they just have extra names. We did it with yours, after all.”

     Tycho nodded, still staring at the image. He could have sat there all day, but after a few minutes the doctor (who didn’t seem the least bit sentimental) switched off the scanner and the image vanished. [They are healthy,] she declared. [And not very old, of course, but since there are two it makes you bigger sooner.] She addressed that last comment to Ar’alani, who just nodded a little. [I would estimate they will be due in about six to seven months,] the doctor continued. [They will be born on Csilla, I presume?]

     [Assuming I am here at the time,] Ar’alani replied, sitting up slowly and swinging her legs over the edge of the exam table. [And if it meets the fathers’ wishes.]

     [Well. You let me know when you make a decision,] the doctor replied, and with that the exam was over and she left to tend to another patient.

     Ar’alani slid off the table and ushered Tycho and Thrawn out. She paused at the front desk to make her next appointment, while Thrawn and Tycho waited for her by the door. Tycho squeezed Thrawn’s hand and whispered, “What are you thinking?”

      “Right now?” Thrawn asked. He tilted his head a little in thought, then grinned. “That I can’t wait to tell my brother he’s going to be an uncle.”


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

     Tycho, Thrawn, and Ar’alani agreed to keep the news quiet for as long as they could. They all knew the time was rapidly approaching when Ar’alani wouldn’t be able to hide her condition, though, and Tycho and Thrawn both knew that when she couldn’t hide it (or didn’t want to) any longer they were going to have to step forward and admit their role in her pregnancy. As Thrass pointed out to them, Chiss politics thrived on rumors as much as politics anywhere else did, and the juiciest rumor of the year would be who got Ar’alani pregnant.

     [Fortunately we Chiss don’t demonize unwed parenthood the way other people do,] Thrass said, [but that doesn’t stop people from being _extremely_ curious about things that aren’t their business, or judgmental about things that are out of the ordinary.] He eyed his brother and brother-in-law and added, [And you must admit, a former Chiss admiral pregnant by two different men, one of whom is human, is very much out of the ordinary.]

     “I just hope this doesn’t come back to bite Ar’alani in the ass,” Tycho muttered to Thrawn as Thrass finally puttered off to deal with politics in the privacy of his own study.

     “She seemed to know what she was getting herself into, perhaps even better than we ever could have,” Thrawn replied. “I’m sure it won’t be so bad.”

     Unfortunately, the secret didn’t stay that way for long, and within a month of learning that he was going to be a father, Tycho was in the _Springhawk’s_ mess hall with the other crew members, enjoying a peaceful dinner, when Thorak’s wife suddenly appeared. Tycho jumped when she leaned over the table beside him, her hands coming to rest on the table edge with such force that the soup in his bowl nearly sloshed over the edge. Tycho sighed and looked up at her. [Do you have to startle me like that?]

     She raised an eyebrow at him and snickered. [Do you have to startle so easily? You’re a pilot, you shouldn’t have such short nerves.]

     [I don’t expect to be attacked at dinner,] he countered. That just earned him a laugh, so he elbowed her a bit and said, [I’m assuming you’re over here because you have something to tell Thorak, so if you want me to leave...]

       [No, stay. I assume humans like juicy gossip as much as Chiss,] she said. Tycho frowned a little, though he felt a twinge in his stomach at the mention of gossip. [You know I just got back from my tour of duty on Csilla, correct?] Tycho and the other pilots nodded. All of the commandos had to spend a certain amount of time each year working as honor guards at the headquarters of High Command, and Thorak’s wife had just gotten back from a two-week trip fulfilling her duty. Any other thoughts Tycho might have had on the matter were interrupted as she continued, [So a few days before I left, this woman came to High Command. I wouldn’t have noticed her compared to anyone else except that she was so obviously pregnant. Either she’s quite far along or she’s got more than one in there. But anyway, I just couldn’t figure out who it _was_. None of the current officers or high-level politicians are pregnant, at least not that pregnant, so I was really confused...until she took her hood off. And then I just couldn’t believe it at all because it was _Ar’alani_. You know, the retired Admiral who advises High Command? She’s _pregnant._ ]

     [I didn’t know she was seeing anyone,] a pilot further down the table said.

     [She’s not,] another pilot replied. [And she’s not that pregnant either, it’s twins.]

     Tycho leaned forward and frowned at the pilot. He wasn’t a member of Tycho’s squadron or of either of the other squadrons in force Spike, so he didn’t recognize him right away. [Who are you and how do you know all of that?] he asked.

     [Apologies, Lieutenant,] the pilot said. [Flight Officer Hess’itth’inronkini. My mother is a member of the same House and graduated from the Academy a few years ahead of Ar’alani. She’s the darling of House Inronkini, you know, daughter of the current Assistant Aristocra and all that. Everyone in the House knows what’s going on with her. We’ve known about her pregnancy for months. It was confirmed as twins last month.] He paused and sipped his drink. [The father is a mystery though,] he added.

     Thorak tapped his chin and frowned. [Is it safe for her? Didn’t she get really sick a few years back?]

      [She did,] his wife confirmed. [I don’t know, I didn’t really talk to her and I didn’t ask anyone else about it. There hasn’t been any kind of official announcement you know, so maybe she doesn’t want people to know.]

     Hess’itth’inronkini snorted. [If that’s the case then she really has gone off the deep end. You can’t hide pregnancy from people. Not without locking yourself in your house and never letting your child out either.]

     Tycho quickly finished his dinner and arranged his plates on his dinner tray. [Well, you’re right, that’s some juicy gossip you dug up there,] he said to Prard’ora’she. [Sorry to cut my dinner short, but I just remembered some stuff I have to do. Thorak, I’ll see you in the barracks later, we have to finish that project we’re working on for the cadets who are visiting next week.] He didn’t give his wingmate a chance to answer before grabbing his tray and rushing off to deposit his things in the cleaning line, then dashing off to the bridge in search of Thrawn.

     Fortunately the bridge crew were all pretty accustomed to Tycho going places that pilots didn’t usually go, so aside from exchanging nods of acknowledgement with him, they ignored him and let him do whatever he had come to do. He rushed to Thrawn’s side and waited while Thrawn finished discussing something with one of his subordinates, fidgeting in his impatience to speak with his husband. Finally, Thrawn dismissed the other officer and turned to Tycho, eyebrow twitching a little.

      “What’s so important it couldn’t wait until later _and_ is making you dance around like a small child in need of a bathroom break?” he asked.

      “If it’s really a bad time I’ll wait,” Tycho replied, “but I thought you should know the juicy gossip has started.”

     Thrawn frowned a little, then his eyes widened as he realized what Tycho meant. “Who?”

      “Thorak’s wife,” Tycho said. “But I met some pilot associated with House Inronkini today and apparently they’ve all known about it for a while. Nobody seems to know the details though.”

     Thrawn nodded, a thoughtful little frown creasing his forehead. “I wonder if she knows that. She must, she’s on Csilla...I’ll call her tonight and discuss it with her. It might be time for our part in this to become known. She shouldn’t have to face the gossip alone.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     By the time Tycho made it to the briefing room the next morning, he wondered what exactly Thrawn had done. Had he called Ar’alani from the bridge and let the entire crew hear the conversation or something? It was about the only thing he could think of that would explain the many odd looks and clandestine nudges and whispers his presence seemed to generate, no matter where he went. He just shook his head a bit and muttered under his breath as he finally entered the briefing room and took his usual seat beside Thorak, then looked up to see his wing mate smirking at him and all of the other gathered pilots eyeing him with looks varying from disgust to awe.

      [Have I got something in my teeth?] he finally asked. [On my face? Is my fly open?]

      [You _devious_ thing, you,] Thorak finally said.

      Tycho raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me? ‘Devious thing’?”

      Thorak and the other pilots laughed. [The rumors are all over the ship,] Thorak said. [Courtesy of the all of the Inronkinis on board. Apparently this morning on Csilla, Ar’alani formally announced her pregnancy and declared that she was carrying on behalf of Mitth’raw’nuruodo and his husband. That would be you.]

      [I’m sure both of the children are fully Chiss, of course,] one of the other pilots said. [Someone as noble as Inronkini’ar’alani would never consent to be bedded by a human.]

      Tycho raised an eyebrow at him. [It’s the modern age. Sex doesn’t have to be involved. Not that it’s any of your business.]

     Anything his fellow pilots were going to say was interrupted by the arrival of their commander, who paused just long enough to give Tycho a stern look and a terse, [Congratulations on your impending fatherhood,] before moving on with the day’s briefing.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “Let’s play a game of whose day was more awkward,” Tycho said as he and Thrawn sat down to dinner that night. “Nobody even seems to know that one of the twins is half human and I’m _still_ getting all kinds of looks and assumptions that I actually slept with her and Force only knows what else.”

     “Ah yes,” Thrawn replied dryly. “I arrived on the bridge this morning to an incredible round of applause that nobody would explain for a solid five minutes. Then my communications officer finally brought up the holovid of Ar’alani’s announcement.”

     “I didn’t think she was going to do something like that,” Tycho replied.

      Thrawn nodded. “She must have been getting a lot of pressure from her family. The more this goes on the more I’m quite sure she never once discussed this with any of them and that this has all come as a shock to House Inronkini.”

      Tycho poked at his food a little. “Is she in trouble now?”

      “I don’t know. She hasn’t told me. But she might be. It’s also possible that she did this to prevent trouble.”

     “I didn’t want to make things more difficult for her,” Tycho said quietly. “If I had known she would be in trouble with her family...”

     “But we didn’t know,” Thrawn said. “And she has always been a headstrong woman. Sometimes I think Ar’alani is the way I would have turned out if I had been promoted to a higher rank before forming the opinions I have on certain Chiss military doctrines. She often disagrees with the accepted way of doing things, but as an Admiral her hands were tied. There were things I did that she agreed with, or at least didn’t disagree with, but I’ll never know exactly because she couldn’t come right out and support me. In fact, sometimes the only thing she could do was find new and creative ways to stay out of my way without getting herself in trouble. Honestly...I’m not at all surprised that she would set her mind to doing something like this and then just go do it, family approval be damned.”

      “This takes that old saying about asking for forgiveness over permission to a whole new level though, doesn’t it?”

     “To be fair, it _is_ her body and her life. The only thing the family could really do to her about it is disapprove. They couldn’t force her to not go through with it.”

     Tycho let out the breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. “That’s a relief.”

      Thrawn nodded in agreement. “Indeed. Even so, I have asked my brother to keep a watchful eye on her and to offer her support as needed. I believe he would have done so even without my interference, but it never hurts to ask.”

     They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Tycho asked, “Have you thought any more about names?”

      “Ah yes, names,” Thrawn replied. “Not as much as I would like. It’s proving difficult though. Alderaanian names don’t often work well with Chiss conventions.”

     Tycho wilted a little, but just nodded. “Of course,” he said. “But we made my name work...”

     “Barely,” Thrawn pointed out. “I had to force readings on some of the idiographs. You name as I wrote it in Cheunh wouldn’t normally be pronounced this way, but if I tried to write it any other way the meaning would have been awful.”

      “And there’s really no way to play with Mia, Pala, or Skoloc so they work?”

      Thrawn shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid not.”

     Tycho pondered, dragging up every bit of information he knew about Chiss naming. “What if we use the Safis from your brother’s name? Safis’kolo’selchu, or something like that?”

      Thrawn coughed. “In addition to sounding like a particularly derogatory term for a penis, that’s just not possible. Neither of us has the right to Safis because neither of us is affiliated with that particular family. We can’t just borrow that part of the name.”

     “A name...for...” Tycho shuddered and shook his head. “That’s out. ...What about using part of Ar’alani’s name? If we used Alani wouldn’t that open up the possibility of using Mia or Pala?”

      “Again, I don’t believe we have the right to using Alani. Though since she will be the biological mother, we might be able to. I would have to ask her and consult naming laws. But even if we could use Alani, that doesn’t solve the problem of where to get the initial M or P sounds in those names.”

     Tycho grumbles a little and stabbed his salad a bit harder than necessary. “I just don’t _understand_ and it frustrates me.”

      Thrawn patted his hand. “I know. But think of it like this. Every Chiss has a family name, a core name, and an affiliation name that almost acts like a second family name. So if you have two Chiss who have children and they don’t share family or affiliation names, they have a lot more options because the family and affiliation names can be combined in many ways. But you and I both share Mitth in the Chiss naming system, so we’re a little more limited. It’s not that we don’t have options. We just...don’t have options that work with the names you want.”

     Tycho rubbed his head a little. “True...I guess there’s always Mom’s name.”

     “Which was?”

     “Tamzyn.”

     Thrawn blinked at him. “Why didn’t you tell me that before? That’s perfect.”

     “Because it doesn’t have the proper TH sound we need to go with Mitth?”

     “Mitth can be adjusted to Mitt for naming,” Thrawn said. “That’s what I did with your name. There’s a Syndic named Mitt’swe’kleoni whose name works that way too.”

     “So his core name is Tswek?” Tycho asked. Thrawn nodded. “...Damn, Thrawn, I love you but your people really need some better core names.”

     Thrawn laughed and grabbed some paper, on which he wrote ‘Mitt’amzy’nuruodo’ in his impossibly neat handwriting. “Alright, I’m going to work on making this work with Chiss idiographs. You need to come up with something for our son now too.”

     “This is the most exciting thing we’re going to do tonight, isn’t it?”

     “Yes. Yes it is.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “How much longer until you become a father?”

     Tycho twisted his head to look through the gap between his claw craft’s wings at the claw craft flying beside him. It had been a few months since the announcement that had gotten everyone on the _Springhawk_ talking about him. For the past three weeks, Thorak had been asking Tycho this question at least once a day. And every day, Tycho gave him the same answer.

     “I don’t know yet. Not much longer though.” Today, though, he got to vary his answer a bit. “We talked to her a little last night. She looks like she’s going to explode or something, it’s crazy. I don’t even know how she can move around.”

     A sound somewhere between a hum and a growl came through the channel the two pilots shared, then Thorak said, “It must be hard on you two, being stuck out here while your children and the woman who carries them is stuck so far away. When was the last time you saw her?”

     “Months ago. Around the time we found out she was pregnant.” Tycho sighed a little. Thorak was right, it had been tough. He remembered all the things people talked about doing when they had new children on the way, like talking to them and feeling them move. He and Thrawn hadn’t had the chance for those things.

     There was the same growling hum again. “You’re more braver than me, Tycho. ...I said that wrong, didn’t I?”

     Tycho chuckled a little. “Braver. But I understood you. I told you your Basic would get better with practice, didn’t I?”

     Before Thorak could answer, the general comm channel cracked to life and Thrawn’s voice came across, sounding more tense than Tycho could ever remember him sounding. [Lieutenant Mitt’ycho’selchu, report to the forward hangar bay immediately.]

     “Damn, he used my full Chiss name,” Tycho muttered to Thorak once Thrawn’s channel clicked off. “Must be serious.”

     “I’ll come with you,” Thorak replied.

     He and Tycho immediately turned around and sped back to the _Springhawk_. As soon as they landed, Tycho took stock of his surroundings. Thrawn was already there, giving a string of orders to the ship’s captain, who was recording every word (or perhaps transmitting them, Tycho couldn’t tell exactly what he was holding from this distance). One of the long-range shuttles housed in the forward bay was positioned for takeoff, and even from where he landed Tycho could see the pilot in the cockpit prepping for launch. A pair of ensigns were dashing in and out of the shuttle, loading luggage into the storage compartments. A junior flight officer appeared at Tycho’s side to take his flight equipment. Finally, the officer Thrawn was talking to turned on his heel and left for the bridge and Thrawn looked up to see Tycho handing off the last of his things to the junior pilot. “Tycho,” he called, “hurry up, we’re leaving for Csilla.”

     “What’s going on?” Tycho asked.

     “What do you think?” Thrawn replied. The mixture of excitement and tension in his voice told Tycho all he needed to know – they were going back to Csilla for their children.

     Thorak clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll take care of the squadron for you,” he said. “Call me when you have news.”

     Tycho nodded and turned to shake his wingmate’s hand. “I will.” He didn’t dare wait to say anything longer. Thrawn was impatient and didn’t seem willing to wait for long, drawn-out goodbyes right now. Tycho dashed off to the shuttle and scurried up the ramp behind Thrawn. He was barely on board when he felt the shuttle taking off. Thrawn had obviously voted to have someone other than Tycho pilot for the time being, so instead of going to the cockpit Tycho went back to the passenger area, where Thrawn was already sending off a message to his brother. When he was finished, he plopped down in a nearby seat and rubbed the area around his eyes.

     “When did they tell you?” Tycho asked.

     “A few minutes before I called you in,” Thrawn replied. “Apparently she has been in labor for several hours, but had been having false labor for days so Thrass was hesitant to call until he was sure it was for real this time.”

     “Poor Ar’alani,” Tycho said. “I bet the doctors are fussing over her and she probably hates that.”

     “She has never been one to enjoy being fussed over,” Thrawn agreed. “As long as they’re keeping her comfortable enough I’m sure she’s fine.”

     Much to their annoyance, the trip back to Csilla took an entire day. Tycho wondered if they should have taken the _Springhawk_ instead of the shuttle, but Thrawn was so tense he decided not to ask. He did sneak up to the cockpit and consult with the pilot, though, who said he didn’t think the _Springhawk_ would have been that much faster. Tycho was pleased – at least they had taken the best available option – but was still irritated it was taking so long to get to Csilla. Though perhaps by the time they got there, the children would be born and Ar’alani would be rested enough to want visitors.

      Of course, it couldn’t work out that easily.

     A grim-faced Chaf’orm’bintrano was waiting for them when they landed, and the first words out of his mouth when Tycho and Thrawn went to greet him were, [If she dies, the entire Chiss community will blame both of you for this.]

       Thrawn went pale, his entire face going a silvery-grey shade Tycho had never seen on any Chiss before. [What do you mean, if she dies?]

      [Have you forgotten how to speak your own language? The words are self-evident. She should never have offered this to you to begin with, but the two of you should have never taken her up on it.]

     [We had no reason to believe it would go badly,] Tycho ventured.

      Chaf’orm’bintrano’s gaze snapped over to Tycho, and he fixed the human pilot with a disgusted scowl. [I didn’t expect anything good from you. But from Mitth’raw’nuruodo I expected better.]

     The color had returned to Thrawn’s face, and he grabbed the Chaf representative by the shoulder. [Your opinion has been noted, Aristocra,] he growled. [Now if you’ll excuse us, it appears that the lives of our children and our friend are at stake. We have a bedside to be at.] With that, he shoved the yellow-clad Chaf aside and stalked deeper into the docking area to where a speeder was parked waiting for them, Tycho rushing at his heels.

     “Do you think he was serious?” Tycho asked.

     “He skipped _every single one_ of the greeting protocols to say that to us,” Thrawn replied. “His delivery leaves something to be desired but I believe his message is accurate. This must be a new development, Thrass hasn’t called us...”

     Tycho settled into his seat and sat silently for a moment, then said, “Maybe Thrass didn’t want to leave her side. The plan was always that he would meet us here and bring us to her. But he sent a Chaf instead...”

     Thrawn just nodded and stared straight ahead. Tycho sighed and looked around, feeling a bit helpless. He glanced towards the front of the speeder and to the Chiss driving them. She was young and pretty, and something about her face reminded Tycho of Ar’alani. His stomach twisted when he noticed that she wore a shoulder patch in the copper-green color of House Inronkini. Ar’alani’s house. He wondered how the young woman viewed him and Thrawn, if she knew what was going on, if she was related to Ar’alani...he glanced at her reflection in the rear-view mirror and felt his breath catch in his throat when the driver’s gaze met his. It only lasted a split second, but Tycho felt that it had been enough for them to communicate somehow. She punched a few buttons on the speeder console, and as soon as they were clear to leave she sped off at a speed Tycho hadn’t known speeders could even reach. Even Thrawn seemed surprised. Tycho could hear the sound of a siren outside the speeder, and realized that the driver had some something to allow them to speed. Other speeders on the way pulled aside to let them pass. Within minutes, they were at the medical center in the heart of the city. Their driver punched another button on the console, allowing them to exit the speeder without having to wait for her to get out and open anything for them. As Tycho followed Thrawn to the entrance, he turned to glance back at the speeder once more. The driver noticed and flashed him a quick solute, but Tycho’s response was interrupted by the hospital’s main doors sliding shut behind him.

     A nurse brought them up to Ar’alani’s room, and Tycho braced himself for whatever they were about to step into. He had never actually been involved in or witness to something like this before and had no idea what to expect even under good circumstances. Thrawn, for his part, didn’t even pause for a breath outside of her door. He just pushed it open and strode inside as though he owned the entire planet. Tycho shook his head a bit and followed.

      Thrass was there, at the head of the bed, talking Ar’alani through was Tycho could only assume as a contraction. The Chiss in the room may as well have been speaking another language. Tycho still didn’t understand much medical Cheunh, and certainly didn’t understand anything related to this branch of medicine. Ar’alani’s screams, though, would have been clear in any language. Thrawn was at her side in an instant, and she reached up to grab at his uniform jacket while he put an arm around her shoulders to support her. Thrass let go of her hand and said something to her, which earned him a nod from her. He gave her shoulder a quick pat and went to stand beside Tycho.

     [How long has she been like this?] Tycho asked him.

     [A while. I lost track of time,] he replied.

     [Chaf’orm’bintrano made it sound like she’s dying,] Tycho said.

     Thrass snorted. [It’s not that bad yet, but there have been complications and she is frightened. Not that she’ll ever admit that, of course. They’re preparing a room for surgery right now.]

     [Surgery?] Tycho’s eyes widened a bit.

     Thrass nodded. [It’s that or let this go on for who knows how long, and that probably will kill her and your children. We assume you don’t want that, so...]

     [No, I don’t. I just feel bad, like this is our fault.]

     [Well, you had a hand in it,] Thrass agreed. [But she chose this too. Besides, this kind of thing happens in so many situations, and we had no indication that it would happen to her. Don’t blame yourself. They’ll do the surgery and everything with be fine.]

     Tycho just nodded, then went over to see Ar’alani himself. Thrawn was just calming her down from another contraction when Tycho sat where Thrass had been and took her hand. She glanced over at him, and when she noticed who it was she flashed him a quick smile and squeezed his hand. [It takes more than this to defeat me, Tycho,] she said between gasps for air.

     [I believe it,] he said. [They’re taking your for surgery.] She nodded a bit, and he added, [You’ll be fine.]

     [We’ll see you when you wake up,] Thrawn added. [And that’s an order.]

     She managed a small laugh, then one of the doctors pushed Tycho out of the way and strapped a mask over her face. Tycho backed up until his back was against the wall and he was well out of the way. Thrawn dawdled long enough to give Ar’alani a quick kiss on the forehead before she passed out entirely, then he too backed out of the way to let the doctors to their work. Within moments, the doctors and Ar’alani were gone, leaving Thrawn, Tycho, and Thrass to their own devices.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

 

     “I think that’s the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

     Thrawn tore his gaze away from his newborn son just long enough to raise an eyebrow at Tycho. “What was the first?”

     “You at our wedding,” Tycho replied, grinning. Thrawn just chuckled a little and turned his attention back to the tiny bundle in his arms. Tycho leaned against Thrawn and looked around his arm at the baby he held. Their son was awake, but looked a bit sleepy. “He looks like you.”

     “Really? I was going to say he looks like Ar’alani,” Thrawn replied. “But either way, really...”

     Tycho nodded and hugged Thrawn’s arm, then reached over to brush his fingertip over the baby’s cheek. “Tell me again what you came up with for his name?”

     “Mitt’arri’selchu.” Thrawn adjusted the baby’s blanket a bit as he drifted off to sleep. “I thought you liked that?”

      “I do,” Tycho replied. “I just...had a hard time remembering it without a face to attach it to.”

     Any reply Thrawn would have made was interrupted by a young nurse appearing at Tycho’s side with their daughter. [Apologies for the delay,] she said. [I hope you weren’t too worried.]

     [It all turned out alright,] Tycho replied as he took the baby from her.

     The nurse seemed relieved that Tycho wasn’t going to make an issue out of it. [We have determined that this is her normal coloring,] she said. [At first we thought she wasn’t breathing right. Chiss babies aren’t usually so silvery. It never even occurred to us that it might be due to her being mixed.]

     Tycho just nodded. [I understand,] he said. [Thank you.] The nurse bowed and left them alone, and Tycho sighed. “She’s not even an hour old and it’s already starting,” he said to Thrawn.

      “Though to be fair, there was a valid medical reason,” Thrawn replied. “I’m quite sure half-human children are rare here.”

       Tycho felt a bit of a lurch in his stomach as he watched his daughter, who had been sleeping when the nurse brought her over and who had barely stirred when Tycho took her. All the logic in the universe couldn’t convince him to shake the feeling that the doctors had wanted to poke and prod at her because they knew full well she half human. He knew Thrawn meant well with his assumption that the doctors had wanted to be extra careful with her health, but Tycho also felt that Thrawn had forgotten a lot of what it meant to be the obvious and looked-down-upon minority. Tycho, on the other hand, had to live with it every day, and he knew their daughter would too. He felt he could be forgiven for keeping a sharp eye out for things that were off in how she was treated.

      “How long before we can take them home?” he asked.

      Thrawn frowned a little as he rocked the baby he held. “A few days. I think newborns usually stay in the hospital for three days. But we can visit as much as we want. We should come keep Ar’alani company anyway.”

     Tycho nodded and turned his face away a little to hide the guilty expression on his face. He hadn’t even thought of Ar’alani since the doctor had appeared to announce that their children were officially born and healthy. He wasn’t sure how long ago that had been, but it felt like a while. “We should see her in the morning,” he agreed. “She’s been through enough for us.”

    The doctors eventually kicked them out, and they had to return to Thrass’s home for the night. When they got there, they discovered that Thrass had been busy. He had an entire feast laid out for them, and the three spent the next several hours eating and celebrating. The festivities only ended when Tycho opened his eyes to find Thrawn hold him, both Chiss looking terribly worried.

      “One minute you were wide awake and the next you just passed right out and fell over,” Thrawn said. “Which means that you’re exhausted and it’s time for bed.”

      Tycho didn’t argue, and Thrawn and Thrass both helped him to bed. He was so tired he didn’t even remember falling asleep.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The next several days were a whirlwind of parties, congratulations, and looking for their own apartment (though Tycho wondered why they bothered since the twins would just be living with Thrass whenever he and Thrawn were away on duty). They finally found a small but nice place not too far from where Ar’alani lived, which pleased the retired Admiral to no end since it made visiting much easier for her. She took her role in the twins’ lives very seriously, to the point that Tycho sometimes felt like they had three parents. Not that he minded, really. He felt that his daughter Tamzyn in particular would need to have a good example of Chiss womanhood around, and that was something he and Thrawn just couldn’t provide on their own.

     Eventually, though, their lives returned to normal. Tycho and Thrawn had to spend much of their time near the edges of Chiss space, watching for any signs of the Far Outsiders. A few months after the twins were born, Thrawn was promoted, and once again earned the right to wear a white uniform. A promotion for Tycho followed a few weeks later, and he found himself in charge of a flight group that included the squadrons of force Spike as well as a few others. At first he was worried that the Chiss pilots under his command wouldn’t take well to his new position, but he found that he didn’t need to worry much. While a few of the pilots didn’t seem to care for serving under a human, they largely kept their negative opinions to themselves and followed Tycho’s orders with the same efficiency as orders that came from Chiss commanders.

     A little over a year after the twins were born, reports started coming in from the farthest reaches of the Ascendency of scattered attacks by the Far Outsiders. Tycho and Thrawn both felt that the attacks were odd and didn’t seem to follow any previously established pattern. If anything, the attacks almost seemed to be in preparation for something.

      “Perhaps they’re planning a larger invasion and these are scouts,” Thrawn mused one day as he studied some data on past battles.

      “Then what were they doing before?” Tycho asked. “And if these are their scouts I don’t even want to know what a full force would be like...I still remember what that one group managed to do to the last version of the _Springhawk._ ”

     “I don’t know...they’re a bit of a mystery, even to be,” Thrawn replied. “But we’ve been dealing with them for years, since before I was born, and they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon...”

      Tycho just shook his head a bit. If even Thrawn was stymied by the enemy, that was bad. But then again, if the Chiss had really been dealing with them since before Thrawn was even alive, it indicated that the Chiss themselves weren’t their final targets. Or maybe that the Chiss mounted a good enough defense that they just weren’t attractive targets. “Maybe they’re looking for an easier target than us,” he said.

      “Which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the galaxy,” Thrawn said. “Then again, we haven’t heard about anything that sounds like a Far Outsider attack in the Inner Rim or the Core, have we?”

      “Not that I know of.”

      Thrawn tapped his chin and sighed. “Well, let’s keep a closer eye on that. I’ll talk to High Command about it.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “So when is she due?” Tycho asked his wingmate during a rare moment of downtime.

      “Any day now,” Thorak replied, clutching his mug of strong tea as though his life depended on it. “She hates being off duty but the doctors finally convinced her that doing commando work while pregnant wasn’t a good idea. But she’s going...what’s the word...stir-crazy?”

     Tycho nodded. “I can believe it. She doesn’t seem like the type to just sit around doing nothing.”

      “The only reason she came this far is because they decided it was okay for her to help evacuate the civilians. They decided it would be light work.”

     Tycho glanced towards the wall before remembering that, unlike on the _Springhawk_ , the ready room in Thrawn’s new flagship had no viewports and he wouldn’t be able to see what was going on outside. He turns his attention back to his wing mate. “Your wife would be good at that. She has the kind of no-nonsense attitude that gets stuff done and makes people feel confident that stuff actually _will_ get done, but she’s good at dealing with people too.” He sighed a little. “It’s just a shame we have to evacuate the colonists. This was such a promising little colony.”

      “Maybe that’s why the Far Outsiders are targeting it,” Thorak said. “It has resources they need or something.”

      “No...” Tycho shook his head. “I don’t think that’s what motivates them at all. But I don’t know what _does_.”

      “Does Thrawn have any ideas?”

      “Nothing more than I do. I think he’s coming around to the idea that they’re looking for easier targets than us, though.”

     “There’s not much easier than a barely-defended colony,” Thorak pointed out.

      “Which is why we’re trying to get everyone out as fast as we can, and why we brought all these military ships along with the civilian transports,” Tycho said. Thorak just shrugged in a way that indicated he didn’t disagree with Tycho’s assessment and sipped at his tea. “Your wife is already on one of the civilian ships, right?”

      Before Thorak could answer, an alarm blared through the ship. [Report to battle stations immediately. This is not a drill.]

     Tycho glanced up at the speakers in the pilots’ ready room, then grabbed his helmet. Thorak gulped down a few more sips of tea before scurrying after him. “What’s this about?”  
      “Damned if I know,” Tycho called over his shoulder. Chiss soldiers of all kinds were racing through the halls with them, headed for their own posts. Tycho slowed down a bit so he could get his comm out and thumbed it on to the channel he shared with Thrawn. “What’s going on? What are we flying into out there?”

      “Far Outsiders,” Thrawn’s tense voice replied. “Dropped out of hyperspace almost right on top of us. They’re targeting the civilian medical transport.”

      Behind Tycho, Thorak swore. “My wife is on that ship!”

      “What?” Thrawn said. “Never mind. There’s no time to move her or anyone else. Tycho, use the pilots to keep their fighters off the transport. Assign some to escort escape pods if you can.”

      “Copy,” Tycho replied. He stuffed the comm back in his pocket, turned into the hangar bay, and dashed to his fighter. The techs were just uncoupling the fuel line as he climbed in, and they scrambled out of the way as he powered up and took off. Thorak followed close behind, and the rest of the fighters under Tycho’s command boiled out of hangar bays arrayed all along the ship’s sides. [Alright, listen up,] he said into the comm, [we’ve been assigned to keep the enemy fighters off the medical transport and to escort escape pods to safety if we can. Let’s put up enough of a fight that they think twice before attacking a Chiss fleet again.] A chorus of acknowledgements sounded in his ear, and Tycho immediately turned his nose towards the medical transport.

     They had barely covered any of the distance to the medical transport when the ugly, misshapen lumps of rock the enemy called star fighters were on them, strafing the oncoming Chiss fighters as they flew. Tycho grunted as something hit his claw craft, sending a shudder through the entire ship. [Thorak, let’s get closer to the transport and take the ones trying to attack it. Black Spear squadron, come with us. The rest of you try to keep as many of them off our backs as you can.] There were no vocal acknowledgements this time, but all around him he could see the Chiss pilots springing into action as ordered. Tycho, Thorak, and the rest of Black Spear squadron shifted course to head right for the medical transport, while the rest of the fighters Tycho commanded began an all-out assault on the enemy fighters. Tycho glanced up just long enough to see Thrawn’s ship and the other capital ships moving in to engage the enemy warships. But then he had to turn his attention to his own battle.

      He focused on a group of ships that were skittering along the medical transport’s surface, trying to find a weak spot in the shields to break though so they could damage it. Tycho aimed for the engines on one and managed to blast it out of the sky before its companions could react. Around him, the members of his squadron went after the rest of the enemy fighters, either killing them outright or chasing them off towards the main battle, where the other Chiss pilots would hopefully deal with them. But it quickly became obvious that even their best efforts weren’t good enough against this enemy. Tycho barely managed to dodge an explosion on the transport’s surface. He flipped his comm over to Thrawn’s channel. “We’re not going to be able to hold out forever, what’s the status on those escape pods?”

      Thrawn didn’t answer right away, but a few moments later, his communications officer’s voice came over the fleet’s shared frequency. [Half of the escape pods are away and safe. Continue to engage the enemy until the rest are safe.]

      Well, that answered that question. [Black Spear, form up on me,] Tycho ordered. [The fighters aren’t a problem anymore so let’s see if we can do something about that first troop carrier coming in.] He eyed his radar warily. A medium-sized ship that was about the same size as a Chiss troop carrier was moving towards the medical transport. Honestly, neither Tycho nor anyone else knew for sure if the ship was a troop transport, but since they didn’t know what else it could be they had just decided that ships of its size must be transports of some kinds. Three of them were aiming for the medical ship just now, and Tycho sent the data targeting the lead one to the rest of his squadron. He got various acknowledgements from them, and then the squadron sped off to deal with the troop carrier.

      They hadn’t yet gotten within firing range when the troop carrier suddenly fired on them, shooting some kind of projectile Tycho had never seen before. [Scatter!] he ordered, and his fighters did a valiant job of getting out of the way. Tycho jerked the stick back and spiraled upwards, then leveled off and checked his screens again.

      He could only see ten ships beside his own. Someone was missing.

     [Who got hit?] he snapped.

     [Two,] one of his other pilots said. [He’s gone.]

      Two was Thorak. He was gone without even making a sound. Tycho allowed himself the luxury of a moment to pound his gloved fist up against his ship’s canopy, then he quickly regrouped. He had worked hard to gain his pilots’ trust and confidence, and both would be lost immediately if he let them catch him in a moment of emotional weakness. He took a deep breath. [Anyone catch what happened to him?]

     [The thing bored right through the ship and took him out,] the same pilot from before said.  [I think some kind of acid was involved, looks like part of his ship melted.]

     [Right. Alright, evasive maneuvers, get in as close as you can and fire on the carrier, and send any data you have about that weapon on to the rest of the squadron.]

     The battle raged on around them, and to Tycho it seemed to take forever. His squadron managed to destroy the first  carrier and was working valiantly on the second when Thrawn’s voice came over the fleet channel. [All ships disengage. Fighters return to the nearest capital ship and prepare for hyperspace. Leave the medical transport.]

      Tycho glanced down at the ship, which was clearly dead in space now, and just hoped they had gotten all of the civilians off. He wondered if Thorak’s wife had been among them and, if so, what he would tell her when he next saw her. Single parenthood wasn’t easy, even among the Chiss with their amazing social support networks.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Both Tycho and Thrawn were exhausted after their intense debriefings about the battle, and all either of them wanted was to have a quick dinner, some time with the twins before bed, and a good night’s sleep. Tycho was actually grateful they had been called all the way back to Csilla for the debriefing, because even though the trip had taken a couple of days and the debriefing had lasted almost as long, it meant they got to see their family and sleep in their own comfortable bed that night. It wasn’t enough to ease the ache in his heart whenever he thought of his dead wing mate, but it did mean he could confirm the safety of his children, Thrass, and Ar’alani with his own eyes, and that went a long way towards comforting him.

      He had just made a cup of tea and was about to carry it off to bed when the door chime sounded. Thrawn, sitting on the living room couch and playing with the twins, looked up and frowned. “Who could it be at this hour?”

      “No idea,” Tycho said, and he went to answer the door. Thrass stood on the doorstep, holding a small bundle of blankets in his arms.

     [Here. This is yours now,] he said, holding the bundle out to Tycho. He clearly had no idea how to deal with the situation.

     Tycho frowned a little, then looked at what Thrass was holding out to him and gasped. It was a tiny Chiss baby, who was doing a very good job of looking confused even though he looked little more than a few days old. [What...who...Thrass, explain.]

      The Aristocra stepped inside and let Tycho close the door behind him. Tycho ushered him into the living room so he could explain to Thrawn too, then took the baby from him and scurried off to find a bottle for him. Thrass waited until Tycho returned to explain.

     Thrass settled onto the couch beside Thrawn and motioned to the bundle in Tycho’s arms. [It took us a few days to sort things out,] he began. [Trying to figure out who was in the escape pods and what had happened was hell. Families got separated, sometimes people lost their identification tags in the rush to escape, sometimes people boarded the pods and then got off again to go look for loved ones, and hopefully boarded different pods at some point...just...a lot to deal with. One of the biggest problems we have had is the babies and children. Many were orphaned – their parents died on the colony, or sometime during the space battle, and of course many were too young to even know their own names or their parents’ names so we had no idea who they were. We have been relying on genetic data but it’s a slow process with so many to sort through. But...we figured out this one, finally.]

     [And?] Tycho prompted when Thrass paused.

      Thrass sighed. [That is your deceased wing mate’s son. He was born on board the medical transport, during the battle. His mother died in the defense of the ship when several of the Far Outsiders managed to board. She refused to listen to the doctors, got right up out of her birthing bed, found a weapon, and went to war. Like a true hero of the Chiss. The people who witnessed it have been telling the story nonstop since we got them here. But nobody knew what happened to her child until tonight, when the genetic analysis was complete.]

      Tycho blinked down at the child, who seemed to have eaten his fill and was starting to drift off. [Thorak’s son,] he said. [But you said he’s mine now, that doesn’t make sense.]

     [Thorak and his wife both named you guardian of their child in the most recent versions of their will,] Thrass said. [And even though you’re human and would never in a million years be able to adopt a Chiss child, nobody can say anything about this or reverse what’s written in a will.]

      [But his family --]

      [Doesn’t exist,] Thrass said before Tycho could take his protest any farther. [Thorak was an orphan raised in an orphanage, and his wife was so estranged from her family that we don’t know where they are and strongly suspect that Prard wasn’t even the family name she was born with.] He sighed. [You don’t have to keep the child. But it is now your legal obligation to make arrangements for his care, whether that means keeping him and raising him as your own or sending him to an orphanage or finding someone else to adopt him. As the Aristocra, I can only bring him to you and inform you of your obligations. I can’t make them go away.]

     [An orphanage is absolutely out of the question,] Thrawn said. [I barely escaped going to one of those when our parents died and the only thing that prevented it was me passing the entrance exam for the academy and being able to go a couple of years early.] He shook his head. [No orphanages for the baby.]

      Tycho watched the baby, who was now sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious to the fact that the three adults were discussing his fate. [Why don’t we just keep him? He’s been through enough, don’t you think? Besides, he’ll have a brother and sister this way...]

     [We can decide in the morning,] Thrawn said. [I’m too exhausted to think this through beyond ‘no orphanages.’ Let’s go find a place for him to sleep for the night.]


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: I think I accidentally forgot to leave a spoiler alert out earlier in the story (I'm sorry!) but at least I'm remembering it this time! This chapter, and a few of the ones to come after, contain spoilers for some of the EU books, particularly that whole Yuuzhan Vong arc.

**Chapter 39 – 16 years later**

 

     Wedge winced as yet another near-miss grazed him. He was an excellent pilot and he knew it, but these Yuuzhan Vong pilots were like nothing he had ever seen before. Even their ships were things he would never have imagined were possible. He shifted his course to take a nose dive straight for the planet below, and scowled when he noticed several Vong fighters follow him. He took a quick count – five of them. Those odds were bad, even to him. “I could use a little help here...” he said into his comm. But he didn’t expect anyone to show up. Gavin, Corran, and the other Rogues were all deep in their own battles.

     So when three of the fighters on his tail suddenly exploded and the other two peeled off to go back towards the main fight, he didn’t know what to make of it. For a moment he felt relief, but that feeling immediately vanished when he saw the new blips on his radar. They clearly weren’t Republic ships, but they weren’t transmitting Imperial codes either, and they weren’t registering as Vong ships. He twisted his head to look up, and gasped. Flying along above and to either side of him were two ships of a type he had never seen before. They had the same ball cockpits he usually saw on TIE fighters, but they had four wings that curved around the cockpits like claws delicately cradling a marble. He punched his comm to cycle through the various channels, until he finally picked up on a language he had never heard before.

     [ _Nees’erath kai, vakan’akne sa!_ ]

     Wedge cleared his throat and the chatter immediately died down. “Unidentified ships, this is General Wedge Antilles of the New Republic. Any enemy of the Vong is a friend of ours but a little identification would be appreciated.”

      For a few moments, his announcement was met with silence, then a woman’s voice replied, “General Antilles. This is Commander Mitt’amzy’nurodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet. We have been chasing this force of Far Outsiders for months. Hope you don’t mind if we join the battle.”

      “Not if you can keep Vong off my back like your pilots just did, Commander,” he replied.

     Above him, one of the fighters waggled its wings at him. “Excellent. The Admiral and General will arrive shortly.”

     As though summoned by her words, a miniature fleet of capital ships appeared from hyperspace. Almost the moment they appeared, several full squadrons of fighters, all identical to the two that had rescued Wedge, boiled out of the ships and immediately went to battle against the Vong forces. A new male voice came over the channel Wedge had discovered, speaking the same language he heard before, but something about the voice sounded familiar to him.

     “General, we should coordinate with the Republic forces,” the woman’s voice said.

     “The Admiral is already taking care of that,” the man said. “In the meantime, take your squadron and focus on their fighters.”

     “Copy,” the woman replied, and then she was barking orders to other pilots under her command.

      “Rogues,” Wedge said as he switched back to the approved Republic frequency, “these fighters are friendlies. Form up and cooperate with them.”

     Moments later, Ackbar’s voice was ordering all of the Republic forces to cooperate with the newcomers. After that, Wedge turned his attention to finding and attacking every Vong fighter he could find. One of the two ships that had helped him peeled off and went to team up with someone else, but the fighter that had waggled its wings at Wedge stayed with him. With the new forces backing them up, they made quick work of the Vong ships. Most of them had been destroyed, and the rest retreated. Wedge knew there was no way that retreat would be permanent – that just wasn’t in the Vong’s nature – but he would take any break he could get. Wedge flew back to his ship to land, and he noticed that several of the mystery ships had landed in the same landing bay.

     Once he landed and powered down his X-wing, he climbed out and looked around. The pilots of the mystery ships were climbing out of their own ships and congregating around one particular fighter. Wedge watched them for a second, then sought out Corran and Gavin. “I must have missed the order telling them to land here.”

      “Ackbar mentioned it,” Gavin said. “But it was quick. My comm blipped and I almost missed it.”

      “Any idea who they are?” Corran asked. “Or where they’re from?”

      Wedge shook his head. “I was talking to one, she identified herself as being from something called the ‘Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet.’ Something about that sounds familiar...” He thought for a second, then handed his helmet off to a tech and headed for the other group of pilots. As he approached, they looked up at him one by one, fixing him with glowing red eyes. Wedge’s gaze darted from one face to the next. He couldn’t believe it – an entire group of Thrawn’s people, from all the way in the Unknown Regions. He wondered how long they had known about the Vong and whether or not they had fought the Vong before. Perhaps the Commander could give him an answer.

     “Excuse me,” he said as he approached the group. “I’m General Antilles. I’m looking for your Commander.”

     “You found her,” a man said, pointing to a shorter pilot in the center of the group.

     She started to turn towards Wedge, reaching up to undo and remove her helmet as she did. The moment she removed the helmet and handed it off to one of the other pilots, her hair fell down around her shoulders in a series of loose, golden-brown curls. Her skin was a pale silvery-blue, much lighter than that of the pilots gathered around her, though her eyes glowed red with the same intensity. There was something somewhat familiar about her features, though Wedge couldn’t place it. Not that he wanted to try right now. He was too focused on the overall package. Force, but it had been a while since he had seen such a beautiful and exotic woman. Of course, the most beautiful woman in the galaxy was his wife, Iella, but the Commander who had rescued him was absolutely mesmerizing. He wondered what she looked like out of –

     “Wedge, stop looking at her like that, you’re old enough to be her father.”

      The pilots around him chucked a little and Wedge felt his cheeks turning pink. “I beg your pardon,” he began, turning towards whoever had interrupted his thoughts, “I was just about to greet the Commander –“

     The other person laughed and slapped Wedge on the shoulder. “I’m just teasing you. But she _is_ my daughter.”  
     And finally, Wedge got a good look at the man talking to him. The very human man. “... _Tycho_?”

      “Good to see you too, Wedge,” he laughed. “It’s been a long time.”

      “I see you have developed a gift for understatement,” Wedge replied. The two men embraced, and the pilots around them turned back to their conversation. Only the young Commander remained focused on Wedge and Tycho.

      “It’s so good to see you again,” Tycho said. “How’ve you been?”

     Wedge shrugged. “Not bad. I married Iella, we had a couple of kids...Syal, my oldest, flies in another squadron these days. Myri is the other, but she’s too young to fly in combat yet. You?”

     “Still married. Got three kids now...this one is Tamzyn, she’s the oldest and commands Black Spear Squadron and is also the head of force Spike.”

     “I see,” Wedge said, turning his attention back to the young woman. She gave him a quick bow. “You and one of your other pilots got me out of a tight spot back there. Thank you.”

      “It was no problem,” she replied. “In fact, it was an honor to fly with the legendary Wedge Antilles.”

     Wedge raised an eyebrow at Tycho. “Legendary?”

     Tycho laughed. “My kids grew up hearing all kinds of stories about you.”

     “I assure you, he did not overstate your skill,” Tamzyn added. “Even excellent pilots get into tough spots sometimes.”

     Wedge nodded a bit and studied Tycho. “So, you’re a what now?” He could clearly see that Tycho had a high rank now, but he couldn’t read Chiss uniforms at all.

     “General,” Tycho said. “And in case you’re wondering, the Admiral in question is Thrawn. He’s looking forward to seeing Pellaeon, if he’s still around.”

      “He is. He’s commanding the Imperial fleet here.”

      “Excellent,” Tycho said. “He’ll be pleased. He misses his old friends.”

     Wedge smiled at Tycho and grasped his shoulder. “I know the feeling, Tycho. It’s good to have you back here.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The highest ranking officers in the Republic, Imperial, and Chiss fleets had decided that the best way to get through introductions was to have a large gathering aboard the largest Republic ship. Wedge was among the first to arrive, and he and the rest of the Rogues gathered in a knot near the hastily-erected buffet table. Wedge eventually had to leave them to join the line of officers forming to greet the Chiss when they arrived, and the rest of the Rogues drifted a little closer to the small stage on which the officers stood.

     He leaned forward a little to watch as the Imperials arrived and greeted their Republic counterparts. Gilad Pellaeon worked his way down the line and eventually took up a spot beside Wedge. “General,” he said, nodding respectfully to Wedge.

     “Admiral,” Wedge replied. “Looking forward to seeing an old friend?”

     “I am. For many reasons.” He looked over at Wedge. “Even you and the other Republic officers admit his genius. Thrawn is just what we need to deal with this threat.”

     “I wonder how long his people have been dealing with the Vong,” Wedge mused. But before Pellaeon could answer, the Chiss arrived and a hush fell over the room.

     Tycho and Thrawn were at the head of the line, followed by three young Chiss (including the young woman Tycho had said was his daughter), and immediately behind them came two perfectly straight lines of Chiss pilots, soldiers, and officers. Tycho and Thrawn joined the other officers on the stage, the three younger Chiss trailing behind them, while the others immediately went to mingle with the rest of the Imperial and Republic soldiers gathered. Thrawn and Tycho worked their way down the line, greeting the other officers as they went. Before long, they made it to where Wedge and Pellaeon stood.

     Tycho grinned as he hugged Wedge again. “You met my daughter already, so now you have to meet my two sons. This is Tarris, Tamzyn’s twin brother, and our youngest son Thorin.”

     Wedge shook their hands too. “Are both of you pilots as well?”

     Thorin shook his head. “Tarris is. But I work in Intelligence.”

     “I see.” Wedge smiled at him.

     Beside him, Thrawn and Pellaeon exchanged a hearty handshake. “Interesting,” Pellaeon said. “I see you brought Imperial fashion back to your people.”

     Thrawn laughed. “Other way around, Gilad,” he said. “I suggested the white to the Emperor when he created the position of Grand Admiral because my people use it for our highest ranks.”

      “I approve,” Pellaeon said. “It was a good color on you then and it’s a good color on you now.”

     “Thank you.” Thrawn studied him, raised an eyebrow, and lightly touched his own upper lip. “I notice you seem to have acquired...facial hair,” he said, eyes focused on Pellaeon’s mustache.

      Pellaeon chuckled. “You don’t approve?”

     “I’m curious why you started growing it.”

     Pellaeon just shook his head a little. “Would you believe a mid-life crisis?”

     “In you? No,” Thrawn replied. “But then, stranger things have happened.” He glanced over at Tycho, and Wedge was pleased to note a twinkle in the Chiss Admiral’s eyes. Clearly, he was still madly in love with Tycho.

     “How hard was it to adjust to living with his people?” Wedge asked Tycho quietly.

     Tycho shrugged. “Not bad. Though I might be looking at things through rose-colored glasses these days now that I’m used to it.”

     Before they could continue their conversation, Ackbar called to get the other officers to join him in a private strategy conference. Tamzyn stayed glued to her parents’ side, but her brothers drifted off to socialize with the other pilots while the offers had their conference.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “If I understood correctly,” Pellaeon said to Thrawn and Tycho, “the Chiss have been dealing with the Vong for a while now.”

     Thrawn nodded. “We call them the ‘Far Outsiders’ and they have been a threat for as long as I can remember. We trained with simulations of old battles against them at the academy when I was a student there. While there are many threats in what you call the Unknown Regions, they are one of the worst we have ever faced.”

     “Where are they coming from?” Wedge asked. “Are they native to the Unknown Regions?”

      “No,” Tycho said. “As far as we can tell, they aren’t even from this galaxy.”

      The entire room went silent for a few minutes. Finally, Ackbar broke the silence. “Have you found an effective way to battle them?”

     Thrawn snorted. “Hit them hard and fast and don’t give them a chance to think or regroup. But it’s not a very good tactic, honestly. The problem is that we aren’t dealing with a force that works in any way that is familiar or anything we would think of as ‘normal.’ If we’re in a battle, and it becomes clear one side is losing, that side usually retreats, yes?”

     “And any officer who won’t retreat in the face of certain failure is seen as foolish,” Pellaeon agreed.

      “That’s not how the Vong work though,” Thrawn said. “In most cases, they will fight to the death of every last soldier on their side.”

     “Based on what little evidence we have, we suspect that the few commanders who _have_ ordered retreats have been severely punished,” Tamzyn added.

      “Punished how?” Pellaeon asked. “Executed?”

      Tycho shook his head. “That would be more of an honor, I think. More than likely they are exiled or turned into slaves. Something along those lines.”

     “These people have slaves?” Wedge asked.

      “We have seen evidence of it,” Thrawn confirmed. “But all of the evidence we have about them is limited and difficult to confirm. We’re basically making somewhat educated guesses here.”

      Ackbar leaned forward and fixed Thrawn with a stern gaze. “For even you to say that is chilling.”

     “If you have any additional evidence to study, I would be happy to analyze it,” Thrawn said. “And of course we can analyze the information gained in today’s battle. But I think the most important thing is to remember that we’re dealing with a force that is nothing like anything most of us have ever seen.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tarris and his fellow pilots retreated to their ships as the officers (and Tamzyn) went off for their conference. The Republic cruiser’s maintenance crew clearly had no idea what to do with clawcraft, though a few who had experience with TIE fighters valiantly tried to figure out such basic tasks as refueling. Tarris beckoned for a member of the maintenance crew to follow him, then began examining his ship for signs of damage that needed immediate attention. He found several areas of damage that probably could have waited for repairs, but he Tarris wasn’t the kind to take chances. He asked the mechanic to get some tools so they could get to work, then leaned against one of his clawcraft’s wings as he waited.

     “You’re not a bad pilot.”

     He turned and raised an eyebrow at the speaker, a young woman in her late teens who was wearing the bright orange flight suit typical of the Republic pilots. The color didn’t suit her, but then, Tarris was certain it wouldn’t suit anyone. His eyes darted to the squadron emblem on her jumpsuit. Whoever she was, she didn’t fly with Rogue Squadron. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m one of the best among my people.”

     “...And modest, too,” she replied, giving him a sour look.

     “My people don’t believe in this ‘modesty’ you speak of,” Tarris countered. “We would prefer to acknowledge our skills.”

       “Force, do you always talk like this?”

      “I’m hardly forcing you to converse with me. You’re the one who came over to chat,” he pointed out.

      She was forced to admit he had a point. “Well anyway. I’m Syal Antilles.”

     “Any relation to the General?” Tarris asked.

     “I’m his oldest daughter.”

     “Ah.” Tarris nodded. “Is he disappointed you aren’t in the squadron he help found?”

      Syal bristled. “God, you’re a stuck-up little prick, aren’t you? I bet I could fly circles around you.”

     “I highly doubt that. You aren’t even in Rogue Squadron and my sister and I rescued several Rogue pilots from certain death today. We didn’t graduate at the top of our class at record ages for no reason, you know.”

     She snorted. “But look at you, you’re still just a snubby jock. So much for your talent.”

     Tarris laughed, which just seemed to anger Syal more, but he ignored it and pushed himself off of the clawcraft wing to stand upright. “For your information, I am a commander of one of the three squadrons that make up force Spike. My sister commands the entire force. And I have only been on active flight duty for three years.” He smirked. “Put that in your pipe and smoke it, _flight officer._ ”

     The Chiss pilots laughed a little, while the members of Syal’s squadron who had followed her over made various sounds of disagreement. Syal, for her part, just laughed. “Three years?” she asked. “God, when do you people start training, when you’re twenty? That’s nothing to brag about. I’m only sixteen and I’ve been flying for a few months.”

     Tarris just gave her a cold and surprisingly Thrawn-like smile. “How very special for you. I was commissioned mere days after my thirteenth birthday.”

     Syal and her squad mates stared at him in disbelief. “...You’re _my_ age?”

      “Apparently so.”

      “That’s not possible.”

     “Isn’t it?”

      She frowned. “No way, you don’t look sixteen.”

      “You’re right, I look damn good for my age.” That comment earned another laugh of approval from the gathered Chiss pilots.

     Syal gave him a quick once-over, as though sizing him up. “There are simulators in one of the ready rooms,” she said. “How about a contest? Best one out of three is officially the better pilot.”

     “I don’t need to fly against you in simulators to know I’m the better pilot,” he said. “All I need to know is that you aren’t a Rogue for some reason, and I certainly flew as well as a Rogue out there today.”

     “Why are you so fixated on squadron membership?”

     “Because only the best pilots get to be in the best squadrons, or to be in command of squadrons, where I come from.”

     “Yeah, well, where I come from, there’s more to who you are than your squadron membership. Besides, there are only twelve people in a squadron. You mean to tell me that the twelve people in one particular squadron at any given time are the only pilots worth your time?”

     Tarris pondered her words. “...Perhaps not, but I’m quite sure there is more than one elite squadron in your military. And it doesn’t seem you are in any of them.”

     “Then you have nothing to lose from our little contest,” she said.

      “But I also have nothing to _gain_ , so why waste my time?”

     “Have you ever flown against a Republic pilot before?”

      Tarris raised an eyebrow again. “My father was a Rogue before he left to go to Chiss space with my [ _To’eyr_ ]. He trained me before I entered the academy. So yes.”

      Syal narrowed her eyes a little, then gasped. “ _You’re_ one of Tycho Celchu’s sons!”

     “I am.”

      “You don’t look very human though.”

     “Well I’m not his biological son. Biologically I’m the son of Thrawn and the woman who volunteered to carry my sister and I for them. Tamzyn is his biological daughter.”

      “Huh.” Syal seemed to ponder than for a few moments, then said, “Come on, our dads would be entertained by us trying to figure out who was better. They were best friends before yours left.”

     “And you clearly don’t know him because I don’t think he would be amused at all by this little game of yours. And from the stories he has told me about your father, he wouldn’t be either.”

     Syal huffed. “Then consider it an education for yourself. Your dad isn’t the only Republic pilot in the galaxy. If we’re all going to be working together, shouldn’t we have some idea what we’re all capable of?”

     “You’re just not going to let this go, are you?”

     “Nope”

     Tarris sighed. “Okay fine. We do it _once_. If I win, you owe me the best dinner you can afford.”

     “And if _I_ win, you get to talk your parents into letting me learn how to fly one of these things.” She motioned to Tarris’s fighter. “What do you call them, anyway?”

      Tarris looked up at his ship, lips working a bit as he pondered the translation. He didn’t usually translate from one language to the other...he simply spoke both Basic and Cheunh as a matter of course. “I suppose in Basic it would be called a clawcraft,” he replied. “Because the wings look like claws.”

     “Alright then. If I win, we talk your parents into letting me learn how to fly a clawcraft. Deal?”

     He nodded. “Deal.” He was sure Thrawn at least would balk at the idea, but he was also confident he would beat Syal easily.

     “Good. Let’s do it tomorrow morning, then. After we’ve both had a chance to rest.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Pellaeon poured drinks for both of them and offered Thrawn a tall glass. “You still drink Forvish ale, don’t you?”

      “I do. Though it’s a bit of a luxury out in Chiss space.” Thrawn raised his glass in a small toast to Pellaeon before taking a sip. “Delicious.”

     “You’re welcome,” Pellaeon replied. “I never thought I would see you again, you know.”

     “I never thought so either,” Thrawn replied. “Of course, I dreaded that I would see you again, on the opposite side of a battle from me, but it seems that Order 68 never materialized.”

     “The techs hypothesized that the Emperor or one of his right-hand servants had to activate it personally. But since he died he clearly wasn’t around to activate it himself, and maybe anyone else who was supposed to know the secret was also already dead...or just didn’t see the point in activating it.”

     Thrawn nodded. “It’s possible. I didn’t see the point in taking the chance before though.”

     “I can see why,” Pellaeon said. “Especially when the Death Star was a real threat.”

     “So explain to me again why you have a miniature ysalamir on your upper lip now?”

     Pellaeon laughed. “Is it really that bad?”

     “Oh yes. I returned fully expecting to see the handsome, distinguished Gilad Pellaeon again and instead I got Admiral Pellaeon, Ysalamir Farmer.”

     “Fine, I’ll shave it off.” Pellaeon chuckled more and waved his hand a bit. “It seems to be a good Thrawn Detector though.”

     Thrawn gave him a quizzical look. “Why would you ever need such a thing, I’m sitting right here.”

     “Ah, long story. Someone tried to convince the galaxy you were back. He used an actor and con man to fake your reappearance.”

     “That’s s pity. Everyone knows I’m one of a kind and hardly reproducible.”

      “Not that you didn’t try,” Pellaeon said. When Thrawn still looked quizzical, he added, “Three kids!”

       “Oh, well, that’s hardly the same thing. Tarris is the only one biologically related to me anyway, Tamzyn is Tycho’s and Thorin is adopted.”

      Pellaeon shook his head. “Somehow I never saw you as a father.”

     “I know, the rabid anti-Rebel streak wasn’t very nurturing.”

     “On the plus side, you’re probably a few steps ahead of them. I bet they never manage to sneak out or cause trouble.”

      Thrawn laughed and slapped Pellaeon’s shoulder. “Hate to break it to you, but Tamzyn in particular was quite the escape artist when she was a child. I did the same thing, so it didn’t really surprise me. But children are quite unpredictable. You never know what you’re getting, or even if what you have one year is what you’ll have the next. They change as they grow.”

     “Analyzing their art doesn’t even help you?”  
     “Goodness no. Much to my dismay.” Thrawn shook his head a little and sipped his ale more.

      Pellaeon drummed his fingers on his glass a little, then said, “I remember you telling me one other time about some art that you couldn’t figure out. You wound up destroying the entire society.”

      Thrawn nodded. “I did.”

      “What did they live on?”

     The Chis admiral frowned a little. “What do you mean, what did they live on?’

      Pellaeon shrugged. “You know. Big planet, small planet, gas planet...”

      “Giant asteroid,” Thrawn said. “A giant asteroid that had taken up residence at what was then the edge of Chiss space.”

      Pellaeon nodded a little. “What made you attack it to begin with?”

     “Orders from my Admiral. I was merely a Commander at the time, and she made a good case about the threat they posed. She’s the one who supplied me with the art...she always had a better grasp on how I did things than anyone else did. But the residents of the asteroid had been attacking the nearby Chiss colonies and seemed intent on capturing one.” Thrawn frowned. “They had the strangest little fighters, I remember, even then...Like flying chunks of rock...” Suddenly, his head snapped up and he dropped the ale. “Ye gods. They were _Vong_ , weren’t they? We didn’t even recognize it at the time!”

     “And you destroyed their entire flying colony.”

     “I’m not _proud_ of that, Gilad.”

     “Honestly, at this point, I think you should be,” Pellaeon countered. “These beings have destroyed entire planets, murdered entire planetary populations, and purposefully chased refugees just to destroy them. Look,” he set his glass down and grabbed Thrawn’s arm, “if we could figure out a way to negotiate with them we would, but so far there doesn’t seem to be a way to do that at all. We need some kind of solution.”

      “Do you still have that art on the _Chimaera_?”

      Pellaeon nodded. “Of course. I never disposed of any of your things. You know,” he said, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks, “just in case you ever came back for any of it.”

     “Let’s go get it then. Maybe it will tell me something now.”


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

 

     Tycho jerked awake the next morning to the sound of his comm beeping incessantly at him. He grumbled and rolled over, then sighed in annoyance when he noticed that Thrawn’s half of the bed was still empty and looked untouched. Apparently Thrawn had stay up working all night. Which meant that he couldn’t rely on Thrawn to answer the annoying and far-too-early comm call that had woken him from a sound sleep. He grumbled and grabbed the offending piece of technology and flipped it on. “Celchu.”

     “ ‘Morning,” Wedge’s voice said. “Did I wake you up?”

     “As a matter of fact you did,” Tycho replied dryly. “So I hope this is important.” Or that he had just failed to calibrate the chronos correctly. Chiss ships ran on Csilla time, but they were supposed to have switched to Coruscant time (like the rest of the fleet) late the previous evening.

     “I don’t know,” Wedge replied. “I think your oldest son and my oldest daughter are using the _Home One’s_ flight simulators for a pissing contest.”

     Tycho frowned and rolled out of bed. “Really? But you don’t have clawcraft programmed into them. Right?”

     “Apparently your son – Tarris? Is that his name?”

     “It’s his core name, yeah.”

     “Okay well, apparently Tarris decided that one of the TIE fighter models was close enough to a clawcaft and that’s what he’s flying.”

     Tycho rubbed his face and grumbled a little when he scratched his hand on the stubble there. “Wedge...I really don’t know why I have to get out of bed and worry about this.”

     “Because Thrawn is too busy studying art to come down here and help me keep order among the other pilots?”

     Tycho frowned even more and started collecting his clothes. “My pilots are being rowdy?” That just didn’t sound like Chiss pilots.

     “It’s not so much that they’re being rowdy,” Wedge replied. “More like...well, honestly I don’t know what they’re doing because they’re not speaking Basic, but my pilots feel like your pilots are taunting them and I could really use a translator over here.”

     Tycho nodded and pulled his pants on. “Is Tamzyn over there? It’ll be pretty obvious, she’s the one you were ogling the other day.”

     “Haha,” Wedge replied, an edge of sarcasm in his voice. “She’s not. I think she’s flying cap right now with some of the Rogues and people from her squadron.”

     “Okay. Call her in anyway, if she’s not busy she’ll get there faster than me and technically this is her problem to deal with, not mine. But I’ll be right over.”

      “Got it.” The connection dissolved into static as Wedge broke his end of the connection, and Tycho stuffed the comm into his pants pocket as he finished dressing. He stopped in the refresher just long enough to splash some water on his face and pull a brush through his hair so he at least looked presentable, though he did take a moment to grin at the mass of products crowding Thrawn’s half of their shared counter. The specific products had changed in the years between their first meeting and now, but Thrawn was just as appearance conscious as ever. And yet somehow, he never seemed to take long in the refresher each day. Tycho shook his head a little and borrowed a bit of hair gel to help keep his hair neat, then dashed off to his shuttle. Once in the hangar bay, he waved off his subordinates’ offer of a pilot to fly the shuttle for him, and within minutes he was clear of the hangar bay and on his way to _Home One._

     When he landed, he found Thorin waiting for him. “Here to bring me to the right ready room?” he asked.

     Thorin nodded and stood at attention until Tycho motioned for him to follow. Here, in front of a force that was completely foreign to him, the young man was determined to follow Chiss protocol to the letter. Tycho might have been his father, but he was also one of Thorin’s commanding officers and one of the most senior officers in the entire Chiss military. That rank disparity demanded a level of formality and respect from the young Chiss that their family relationship didn’t require.

     Tycho followed behind him until they were out of the hangar bay, then said, “Are you going to tell me what you know about the situation?”

     Thorin hesitated. He didn’t like to speak poorly of his older siblings, but he saw no way around the situation now. “The human pilot girl came over to talk to him and...I don’t think Tarris thinks highly of her piloting skills because she isn’t a Rogue, so they argued, and they agreed to a competition today.”

      “And?”

      “And it’s happening right now.”

      Tycho stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. “Wedge Antilles didn’t drag me out of bed just because of a competition. He called me because he thinks things are about to get out of hand with your peers.” Thorin didn’t say anything. He just glanced down towards his feet and bowed his head a little. “I expected better of all of you,” Tycho said. “Which ready room are they all in?”

     Thorin pointed down the hall. “The third one that way,” he said. Tycho nodded and brushed past him, pausing just long enough to give his youngest son’s shoulder a quick squeeze, then heading down the hall and into the room.

     Wedge was already there, watching his pilots and trying to keep them calm. Tycho frowned and moved closer to the Chiss pilots, who were talking quietly amongst themselves, their comments occasionally punctuated with laughter. The laughter seemed to rile the Republic pilots the most. Tycho didn’t let his pilots know he was there, and when Thorin finally appeared he stopped the young man from alerting the pilots to his presence. If they knew Tycho was there, they would immediately change their language to be more formal, and Tycho wanted to know what they were saying.

      [That human girl is getting her ass handed to her,] one pilot commented.

     Another snorted. [That’s what she gets for challenging Mitt’arri’selchu,] she said.

     [What an idiot,] the first pilot said.

     [She’s human, what did you expect?] a third pilot interjected. [ _Moactan teel_.]

     The words were barely out of the pilot’s mouth before Tycho was right in front of him, fixing him with a scowl that would have sent a lesser being cowering for cover. It was a testament to Chiss training that this pilot snapped to attention at the sight of a clearly enraged General Celchu, though Tycho could easily see him quivering and could tell that he refused to meet Tycho’s gaze.

      “Tell me again, flight officer, about how Syal Antilles being human makes her an idiot and deserving of your scorn?”

     “She shouldn’t have challenged your son, sir,” the pilot replied.

     “And Tarris should have been mature enough not to put himself in this position, but I don’t hear you calling him names,” Tycho countered. “Kitchen duty for two weeks. And while you’re scrubbing our dishes by hand, I want you to consider that these people are our _allies_ and that the Chiss don’t treat _allies_ this way. Also...remember that your General is a human too.” He looked up at the rest of his pilots, who were all standing stiffly at attention. “You will all be serving your own kitchen duty shifts,” he said, “since none of you saw fit to stop the insults. Now, which of those simulators is my son in?”

     Several of the Chiss pilots nodded to the one closest to them, and Tycho stalked over to it. He pounded on the entry hatch, but when that didn’t get an immediate response, he looked at Wedge and asked, “Where’s the emergency release on this thing?” Wedge came over and flipped open a small panel, then punched the red button behind it. Immediately, the entry hatch hissed and opened. Inside, Tarris was furious because his battle had been interrupted.

     “What the--” Tarris grumbled.

     “Get out of the simulator,” Tarris said.

     “But I’m in the middle of a battle!”

     [I said _get out!_ ] Tycho roared at him. Everyone, even Wedge, took a step back, and Tarris scrambled out of the simulator. “Were you a part of this? Did you take part in insulting your opponent and the other human pilots?”

     Tarris fixed him with an incredulous look. “She’s an uppity little brat who thinks she can fly as well as an elite pilot even though she isn’t one.”

      “And you think that because she’s a human?” Tycho asked. Tarris didn’t say anything. He just shifted from one foot to the other and looked away from Tycho. The anger drained from Tycho’s face, to be replaced by pure disappointment. “You were never raised or trained to think that way about anyone. To think that people were less deserving of respect because they were humans or had lower grades or weren’t in elite squadrons. You have no idea how disappointed I am in you, as your commander, but more importantly as your _father_.”

     Tarris just blinked up at him, clearly at a loss for a response. “Father...”

     “Now the first thing you’re going to do is apologize to Syal Antilles and her father, General Antilles, for your behavior. Then you’re going to apologize to the rest of those pilots on behalf of your peers for their poor behavior. And then tonight you’re going to come speak to both of us about appropriate discipline. Your peers each have two weeks of kitchen duty. You can expect at least the same.”

     The young Chiss pilot stared at him for a moment, then nodded and turned to go back to where Wedge, Syal, and the other Republic pilots were waiting. He executed a stiff and deep bow for each apology, then made his way back to Tycho. “All of you, return to your home ships immediately and report to your captains for your kitchen duty assignments,” Tycho said. The Chiss pilots saluted and marched off in an orderly formation. Tycho stood stiffly, arms crossed over his chest and face schooled into a stern look, until they were all out of sight. Then he sighed a little and turned back to Wedge.

     “That was a little harsh, don’t you think?” Wedge asked.

     “Giving them all kitchen duty?”

     Wedge shook his head. “The way you dealt with your son.”

    “Ah.” Tycho shook his head. “I don’t. But mostly because...Wedge... I’m a human. His twin sister is half human. And yet, when he gets the chance, this is how he treats non-Chiss? This is how the other pilots treat non-Chiss? It’s not acceptable.”

     “How is Thrawn going to react when he finds out about this?”

     “He’ll support my decisions,” Tycho replied. “At least in public. He might try to argue them with me in private, but I think when he finds out what happened I’ll be the buffer between him and Tarris, talking him out of some punishment like sending Tarris all the way back to Csilla.”

     Wedge sighed and shook his head. “We don’t need this kind of internal fighting.”

     “I know. But we don’t need my people coming in here and being disrespectful to yours, either.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Syal managed to sneak out of the ready room and down to the Chiss-occupied hangar bay while Tycho and Wedge talked. She could easily tell that Tarris was in a ridiculous amount of trouble, and she felt like it was her fault. So she went to wait beside his clawcraft in the hopes of being able to apologize to him before he left the ship.

     Tarris caught sight of her as he approached, and the already sour look on his face settled into a scowl. “You are the last person I want to see. Get away from my ship. Haven’t you done enough?”

      “Probably. But I came to apologize. Since I’m kind of the reason you got in trouble and all.”

      He snorted. “Why thank you, it means so much to me to know you care,” he replied, voice thick with sarcasm. “If you really want to help, how about telling this to someone who can change things?”

      She sighed. “How about you stop being such an ass to people?” she said. “It’s partly my fault, but if you weren’t such a stuck-up, snobby jerk with such a high opinion of himself none of this would have been a problem.”

     Tarris just continued to scowl at her as he tugged on the last of his gear in preparation for takeoff. “Stay out of my way and this won’t ever happen again.” He pushed past her and climbed into hit clawcraft, and started the ignition sequence. Syal scrambled away from the ship, and he took off for Thrawn’s flagship.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn had stared at the damn sculpture for hours. Somewhere along the line, he had fallen asleep in his old command chair (he couldn’t believe that Pellaeon had kept it _or_ that he had ever thought the thing was comfortable), only to jerk awake a few hours later and continue staring at the sculpture. But just like before, it wasn’t giving him any insights or divulging any secrets. He had hoped that knowing it was a Vong piece would help, but it hadn’t.

     It was driving him nuts.

     “Maybe it’s not even art...” he muttered, tapping his chin a little as he frowned at the thing. After all, he hadn’t really seen any sign that the Yuuzhan Vong had art. Well, they didn’t seem to have anything recognizable as art, anyway. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that was a logical observation. The Vong weren’t even from this galaxy and it seemed apparent that their humanoid form was a coincidence. It was a miracle that any aspect of their technology could be identified or recognized by the Republic or Imperial forces. So then, why should he expect their art to conform to anything familiar?

     He pushed himself out of his command chair and winced at little at how stiff he had become sitting there for so long, stretched, and walked over to the sculpture. He studied it intently for a moment, then reached out and slowly brushed a finger over its surface, feeling the texture of the piece as he did. It looked smooth, but was rough to the touch, with spots that caught his skin and pulled in uncomfortable ways. A different spot on the piece was rough to the point of sharpness, and still another was perfectly smooth. He felt something like an electric tingle in yet another spot, and the base of the sculpture felt surprisingly warm to the touch. He frowned a little. The base wasn’t just warm, it was pulsing, a barely perceptible sensation, like the flutter of a weak pulse under thick skin. He jerked his hand away as a sudden horrible realization flooded through him – this wasn’t a sculpture, at least not in the traditional sense, it was a _living thing_ , just like the rest of the Vong technology. Which meant that, while whoever had made it had certainly influenced the object’s growth pattern, it had probably also grown within certain constraints. He thought about other living art he had encountered, like tiny shaped trees. While the artist involved in such things may have altered the trees to grow in certain ways, they were still trees and were still constrained by their treeness. There were certain things an artist would never be able to do with a miniature tree without killing it or somehow altering that which made it a tree.

     Thrawn picked the sculpture up and turned it over in his hands, wondering just what kind of creature it was and how it had survived this long with no recognizable food source. Perhaps it was in some kind of hibernation state. He poked and prodded and stroked all over it, trying to find some way to wake it up and help him figure out what it was. But while his touch caused the thing to quiver and pulse in various ways, it didn’t do anything else. He wondered if it was somehow programed to only respond to the touch of a Yuuzhan Vong. Or perhaps it had been in a hibernation state for song long that it couldn’t wake up anymore. Or maybe this was as “awake” as it ever got. Finally, Thrawn sighed and set the thing back on its pedestal. He still didn’t know what it was or what it was supposed to do and he was quite sure he didn’t have any new insights into Yuuzahn Vong culture or psychology from it, but at least he had made a little headway in figuring out that even Vong art was based on living things.

     “Any progress?” Pellaeon’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

     “It’s alive. Or at least, it was.” Thrawn sighed a little and gave the sculpture a pat. It quivered in response, then immediately went still. “Just like everything else they use.” He looked up at Pellaeon. “Are they really that terrified of technology?”

     “Terrified of it or disgusted by it,” Pellaeon confirmed.

     Thrawn studied the sculpture a little more, and nodded slowly. “Yes...disgusted by it, I think. Almost religiously so.”

     Pellaeon grinned. “Just got that from the art, did you?”

     The Chiss Admiral looked up and gave him one curt nod.

     “Then they don’t stand a chance anymore.”

     “Why do you say that?”

     “Because Thrawn is back. You were almost unstoppable once. From the sounds of it, you haven’t stopped being that way. And now, you finally found the key to bringing that to the Vong.” He shook his head. “I would really hate to be on their side right now.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho dried his hands on a fluffy towel and leaned against the door of the refresher as he listened to Thrawn. “That’s a huge breakthrough for you, isn’t it? I mean, you’ve been thinking about that damn statue for decades.”

     Thrawn nodded a bit and leaned back on the headboard of their bed. “I’m not entirely sure where to go with it though. It seems like such an obvious insight.”

      “Well, let’s say you’re right and that they’re anti-technology for religious reasons or something. Technology doesn’t seem to be defeating them so well...Maybe the answer is to fight bio-tech with low-tech.”

      “Perhaps,” Thrawn agreed, nodding a bit. “Maybe it’s time to look into getting the commandos outfitted with archery equipment and metal blades again.”

     Tycho tossed the towel aside and flopped on the bed beside Thrawn, who immediately rolled over to hug him close. Tycho closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Thrawn’s chest, gradually relaxing as the other slowly rubbed a hand over his back. He was just dozing off when Thrawn spoke again.

     “I heard about the debacle with the pilots this morning.”

     Tycho groaned. “I still don’t know what to do with Tarris.”

     “I already dealt with it. He has kitchen duty along with the others, and he will also be grounded until further notice, barring any serious emergencies when we need every skilled pilot in the air. But honestly, he’s a good ground fighter too. He’ll suffer more from his grounding than we will.”

     “I was afraid you would think I was too hard on him.”

     Thrawn pondered for a moment. “Well...I argued with myself over my feelings on how you handled the situation, but honestly, their behavior – and especially our son’s behavior – was unacceptable. Normally I don’t favor public dressing-downs like that but maybe the public humiliation will actually teach them a lesson, especially since it happened in front of so many non-Chiss and came from a non-Chiss they _have to_ respect.”

     “I’m grateful you’re backing me up though,” Tycho said, and he raised his head to kiss Thrawn.

     Thrawn grinned. “I would _love_ to back you up a little more, you know...”

     At first, Tycho didn’t know what he meant, then he gasped a little and playfully smacked Thrawn’s shoulder. “We don’t have _time_ for that.”

      “There’s always time for that,” Thrawn countered with a laugh.

      “Tarris is going to be bringing us dinner soon, we really don’t have time.”

      “So I’ll put a sign on the door and we’ll just have a quicky,” Thrawn said. Tycho raised an eyebrow, so he added, “Of course if you’re not up for it...”

      “I am,” Tycho said. “I just don’t know if right now is the best time...”

      Thrawn brushed a stray strand of hair out of Tycho’s face and kissed his nose. “I can’t think of a better time. We’re stressed out and worried, there’s so much going on that’s beyond our control, but we still have each other. And we can take comfort in that.”

      Tycho grinned at him. “Quickly, then. All that stuff beyond our control could come crashing down on our heads any second, you know.”

      Thrawn laughed and fished some lube out of the bedside table, while Tycho rolled out of bed just long enough to strip. Thrawn didn’t bother with everything – his pants wound up in a pile by the bed, but he didn’t remove his jacket or shirt under it. Tycho didn’t care, though. He just unbuttoned the shirt and pushed the jacket aside as he returned to bed and Thrawn rolled on top of him. Tycho moaned and pulled him closer for a deep, rough kiss, which he didn’t break until he felt the other pushing into him. He let his head fall back as he gasped, fingers clenching around the edges of Thrawn’s uniform jacket.

      “Damn,” he hissed. “That always feels so good...”

     Thrawn groaned a little and dipped his head to nibble on Tycho’s earlobe as he worked, thrusting at a fairly hard and fast pace. Tycho wrapped his arms around the other and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a soft cry of pleasure with each thrust. After all this time Thrawn new exactly what to do to make him feel amazing.

     “You’re so perfect,” Thrawn murmured, and Tycho turned to kiss him again, a deep and almost desperate kiss. Yes, Thrawn had been right – they both needed this. They needed more than this, really, but even Thrawn had to admit that the current situation didn’t allow for much down time. Thrawn shifted a little to slide a hand between them and stroked Tycho’s length slowly, as though teasing him.

     Tycho gasped and rocked his hips a little, fingers digging into Thrawn’s shoulders as he did. “I...”

     “I know. Me too,” Thrawn whispered in his ear.

     Tycho didn’t last long beyond that. The whisper was just so sensual, so intimate, that he couldn’t help but react to it. He gasped and tilted his head back, exposing his throat to Thrawn as he came. Thrawn licked and nipped gently at his throat, and after a few more thrusts he came too. He and Tycho lay there, wrapped tightly in each other’s arms and struggling to catch their breath, until they heard the sounds of someone moving around in their private quarters’ main room.

     “I should go make sure that’s Tarris,” Tycho said. It took a little prodding to convince Thrawn to let him go, but then he was finally able to clean up a little, pull some clothes on, and go into the other room. Just as he had suspected, Tarris was in the room, delivering their dinner. He glanced up at his human father, then his cheeks turned a little purple and he gave Tycho a sheepish look.

     “What’s wrong?” Tycho asked.

     “Um...” Tarris bit his lip a bit and dawdled around a little. “Well, let’s just say I thought you guys wanted dinner in the bedroom, so when I got here that’s where I went first...”

     “Ah.” It was Tycho’s turn to blush. “...Well, if you need any therapy after seeing that, I’ll be happy to pay the bill for you.”

      Tarris just laughed a little and shook his head. “It’s fine. I caught on before actually seeing much.” He double-checked to see if there was anything he had left to set on their table, then nodded. “Well, that’s everything...”

     Tycho stepped up beside him and surveyed the table, then turned and pulled Tarris into a hug before the younger man could protest. “Tarris, you’re my son and I love you very much. I might be mad over what happened but that doesn’t change my love for you. You know that, right?”

     It took Tarris a few minutes to warm up to it, but he finally returned Tycho’s hug and nodded against his shoulder. “I know. And I’m sorry.”

     “That’s not going to change your discipline though.”

     “I know that too. And I deserve it, really.”

     Tycho gave him one last squeeze, and then let him go. Tarris grinned a little, then snapped to attention and saluted before taking the dinner tray from the kitchen and leaving his parents’ quarters.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I just realized that I forgot to post a chapter here yesterday! So instead you're going to get TWO chapters today (41 and 42) because I'm supposed to post 42 on ff.n today and I'm afraid that if I don't keep posting the same chapter on both sites each day I'll get confused and make a mistake somewhere.

**Chapter 41**

 

     “I cannot believe they made me part of the ground assault,” Tarris muttered into the comlink in his helmet.

      On the other end of the channel they shared, his twin sister Tamzyn snorted. “Well it’s your own damn fault you’re not flying with us,” she said. [ _To’eyr_ ] “must have been furious to ground you from flying, though. I hope you learned your lesson, I don’t need any of my pilots –“

     “Half of the pilots there were yours, you know, it’s not like I was the only one.”

     “Right now, all that matters to me is that you’re the only one not out here flying with us like you should be,” she countered. “Did you at least borrow some extra armor from Thorin?”

     “I did. For all the good it’s going to do.” Tarris had heard far too many stories of the Vong’s fighting abilities to expect the armor to do much good against them. Besides which, he hadn’t even been able to get fractal pattern armor, like the kind his brother usually wore. They only stocked enough of that for the commandos and intelligence operatives on any given ship, and every set was in use. Tarris had had to settle for something that looked vaguely like black stormtrooper armor, with a burgundy shoulder guard over one shoulder and a helmet with a clear face shield to match. Thorin had assured him that the black armor was strong and practical, if not terribly attractive or interesting to look at.

     “Quite griping,” Tamzyn’s voice said in his ear. “You should be grateful for that armor, and if you’re not, give it to someone who will be and go into battle naked like our ancient ancestors did.”

      Tarris snorted. “Thanks, but I like the idea of staying alive and potentially able to reproduce in the future. And they didn’t go into battle naked, they wore body paint.”

     “...you should have become a politician like Uncle Thrass.”

     “Hey, don’t throw Uncle’s lot in with the rest of the politicians. He’s actually a nice, reasonable guy,” Tarris said.

      “And like all good Chiss Aristocras, he is gifted with the ability to talk his way into, out of, under, over, and around any situation he wishes,” Tamzyn pointed out.

     Tarris twisted his head so he could look out the nearest small viewport of the shuttle he was on. He could see the combined Imperial, Republic, and Chiss ships through it, forming up for an attack on the planet below in the hopes of rescuing as many of the remaining inhabitants as possible from the Vong who had begun colonizing it. A single clawcraft shot past the viewport, and he immediately recognized it as his sister’s. Tamzyn’s clawcraft had been with her since she was commissioned and had taken a lot of damage in its time. While she repaired any structural damage that threatened her safety in the ship, she tended to leave the cosmetic damage be. The most recent addition, though, was several splashes of red and black paint on the forward tips of the wings. The initial splashes had been an accident, caused by a tech tripping and sending a bucket of red paint flying. Most of the paint landed on Tamzyn’s fighter, and at first everyone had thought she was going to be furious. But it turned out that she liked it, and confiscated several more buckets of red and black paint so she could add to it herself. It was a very unorthodox move for a Chiss, but everyone had learned not to question such actions on her part.

      “Well, maybe,” Tarris repeated, keeping his eyes on his sister’s clawcraft until it changed direction and zipped off to where he couldn’t see it. “Anyway, be careful out there. I don’t like those damn coralskippers.”

     “Ah, don’t worry about me,” she replied. “Just get yourself out alive, okay?”

      Any reply Tarris might have had for her was interrupted by his commanding officer for the mission announcing that they were about to enter atmosphere, and to make sure their equipment was prepared. Tarris quickly checked to make sure his various weapons were within easy reach. He had an Imperial blaster strapped to one hip and a Chiss charric on the other, various sized grenades tucked into special holders on his belt, and knives of every size and description tucked wherever they would fit and he could reach them. The current theory was that low-tech equipment like knives and vibroblades might be the key to undoing the Vong, and he was ready to test that theory if he had to.

     He felt a light bump as their transport landed, and quickly went to line up with his fellow soldiers. He quickly checked for his weapons once more, in a vain attempt to calm his nerves. Tarris was a pilot, and while he (like all other Chiss in the military) had training in the kinds of combat he might encounter on the ground, he was much more comfortable and sure of himself when he could fly.

      But he didn’t have much time to worry about his nerves or how much happier he would be flying in space with his sister and his squadron mates. Their transport’s landing ramp opened and Tarris had to hurry after his new teammates. The moment his feet hit the ground, he rushed to the nearest bit of cover – the remains of a tall stone wall that could have been a gate or part of a building, it was hard to tell – and hunkered down to take stock of his surroundings. His transport had landed along with several others in the center of a town that had clearly seen better days. Tarris wondered why they had chosen here, of all places, because at first it didn’t look like any of the previous residents were left, and the whole point of sending this force in to land was to rescue people. He moved to peer around the edge of his wall and caught sight of a flash of something pink and green scurrying out of sight, and rose as quietly as he could to follow it. He tapped his comm to switch it to the common channel they were all using that day, and as he walked he clicked out a message to his peers regarding his location and the fact that he was following something suspicious. A chorus of clicks answered him, and at one point he glanced to his left to notice one of the career commandos, in armor similar to his, shadowing him at a short distance. As Tarris prepared to turn down the alley the pink and green flash had gone down, he exchanged quick nods with the commando, then worked his way slowly down the alley. He pulled a long vibroshiv from its place on his belt and moved slowly down the alley, peering around corners and into destroyed buildings as he moved, until finally he found the source of the flash – a small human girl in a tattered pink and green dress, huddled in the remains of a small building with an elderly human woman and several other children of various ages and species. They all cowered back into a corner as he stepped into sight, so Tarris immediately crouched down and pushed the face plate on his helmet up so they could hear him more clearly when he spoke.

     “I’m Tarris,” he said. “I’m a friend. We’re here to get you out. Come with me and I’ll take you to a transport, it’ll take you to one of the Alliance ships above the planet.”

     The kids studied him, then looked up at the old woman for guidance. “You don’t look human, son,” she said, “but you sound like you just stepped off the transport from Alderaan.”

     Tarris grinned a little. Because he and his siblings had learned their Basic from Tycho, they had picked up some of his Alderaanian accent. “Must have gotten the accent from dad,” he said. “Look, I don’t mean to worry you, but we kind of have to hurry. We don’t know where the Vong are or when they’ll come back so if you could all please just come on and follow me that would be great.” He stood up and stepped aside so they would have a clear path out of the building. At first, none of them moved, but then one of the older kids got up and took the hands of two of the younger ones and immediately rushed for the door. Tarris told them where to go and instructed them not to get too far ahead, otherwise Tarris and the other commando wouldn’t be able to help them. The rest of the children and the old woman waited, obviously tense, but when they didn’t hear the sounds of screams or weapons or anything else that might indicate an ambush, they finally got up and followed the first three brave children. Tarris took one last look around the room he had found them in, then followed them. The commando who had shadowed him all the way here nodded when Tarris reappeared in the alley, then turned to follow the group back to the waiting shuttles.

     They had almost made it and Tarris was starting to feel like this mission wasn’t going to be so difficult after all when something screamed by overhead. His little group of refugees scattered, and Tarris looked up to see half a dozen ships streak by – four coralskippers, in pursuit of two X-wings. One of the X-wings was trailing a thick plume of black smoke, and as Tarris and the others watched it exploded in mid-air. Those around him gasped and cried out in horror, but Tarris was already looking for something else – the second X-wing. The coralskippers were still chasing it, and he quickly caught sight of it as it tried to evade them, but to no avail. The Vong ships got in a few good shots, and the X-wing plummeted to the ground. Tarris watched, waiting for signs of an explosion, but when none came he turned to the commando who had been following him and waved the other Chiss man into action.

      [Get them onto a transport!] he shouted to be heard over the din of ships screaming past overhead. [I’m going to go help the X-wing pilot!]

     [Are you crazy? The Vong shot it down! They’re going to be all over it! Besides, no way anyone could survive that kind of crash.]

      [It’s possible,] Tarris countered. [And either way, I’m not going to leave the body of an ally for them to defile.] Before the commando could protest any more, Tarris turned and rushed off towards where the X-wing had gone down. He didn’t have as far to go as he had feared – it was a short distance to the town boundary from the square, and the X-wing hadn’t gone down very far beyond that. Tarris crouched behind another broken-down wall to watch for a moment, but he didn’t notice any Yuuzhan Vong in the area. Even so, he paused to make sure his second vibroshiv was easily accessible, then he sprang up and raced across the open ground to the downed Republic fighter.  The moment he arrived, he threw himself down against it at the spot where the S-foils joined the body and tried to take stock of the situation. The ship had taken a nose-dive and a quick look over the wings showed him just how far it had skidded before finally stopping here. The wings he was using as shelter seemed straight enough, except for the laser cannon on the bottom wing. He turned his attention to the canopy and was pleased to see that it was already gone. If the pilot was still in there, it would be much easier to get him or her out. On the other hand, it was possible the pilot had ejected, and Tarris had no idea where to even begin looking for an ejected X-wing pilot.

     Tarris took another quick look around to make sure he wasn’t about to be ambushed, then pulled himself up to look into the cockpit. He groaned a little. The pilot was there, alright. It looked like the ejection seat had malfunctioned. The pilot was unconscious and flopped forward and to one side, meaning Tarris couldn’t even see the being’s face. He grabbed another smaller, sharp blade from his miniature arsenal and used it to cut through the pilot’s restraints, then hooked his hands under the pilot’s arms and pulled, hoping desperately that the pilot wasn’t injured and that his efforts at getting his mystery ally out of the X-wing weren’t doing more harm than good. It took a bit of work, but finally, with a grunt, he pulled the pilot out of the X-wing and onto the ground beside it. He had barely finished when the pilot groaned and began to stir.

     The young Chiss leaned over to get a look at the pilot’s face, and frowned a little. “Tell me again how you’re an awesome pilot?” he said.

     Syal Antilles squinted up at him and raised her arm to block out some of the sunlight from above so she could see him better. “You,” she said. “I thought you were a pilot.”

      “...long story,” he muttered. “Let’s get you out of here. There are transports back in the town square.”

      “But my X-wing –“

     “Is going to have to stay here,” Tarris said firmly. “I’m sorry but I can’t carry it too. Hurry up before they leave us both for dead.”

     Syal staggered to her feet with help from Tarris, and they headed back towards the remains of the town. Tarris turned his head this way and that as they moved, lips pressed together in a grim line. The space between the downed X-wing and the town boundaries was wide open, without so much as a blade of grass to provide even the smallest bit of cover for them. Syal winced and hissed every time she tried to put weight on her right leg.

      “Think it’s broken,” she muttered.

      “You’re putting weight on it and moving, can’t be that bad,” Tarris said in what he hoped was an encouraging tone. “As soon as we get back to the shuttle –“

     Something hit them from behind and knocked the wind out of them completely. They both fell face first to the ground, though by the time they landed Tarris was already shifting his weight to roll over and face their attacker. A tall Yuuzhan Vong warrior, wielding an amphistaff, was grinning down at them with what could only be described as sick glee at their situation.

     “Go,” Tarris said. “As far as you can.”

     “He’ll kill you!” Syal exclaimed.

     Tarris threw her a quick glare as he climbed to his feet to face the Vong. “Well, don’t let me die in vain then!” he countered, and without even looking to see if Syal was listening to him, he dropped into a fighting stance and darted forward to attack the Vong.

     Syal watched for only a moment, then turned her attention to getting into the town. Without Tarris to lean on, she was slow and clumsy and her leg throbbed with every step. It might not have been cleanly broken, but it was obviously injured and in any other situation she would have refused to move. But right now, she really didn’t have a choice. She fixed her gaze on the rubble marking the outside edge of the town and began her slow, deliberate march towards it.

     Behind her, Tarris was doing everything in his power to avoid the amphistaff. He got the distinct idea that his opponent was toying with him. But even if that was the case, the warrior far outstripped Tarris’s abilities and strength in single combat like this. Had Tarris been in his clawcraft, he was sure he would have at least been evenly matched with the warrior in front of him. But he wasn’t. He was stuck here, on the ground, with nothing but his wits and some weapons...

     Weapons like knives and vibroshivs.

      He smirked a little and pulled the two vibros from their spot on his belt and flicked them on, as high as they would go. He parried an attempted strike with his forearm and tried to duck under his opponent’s arm to get closer, but it didn’t work. The Vong aimed a well-placed kick at him and sent Tarris flying back to land in a heap on the ground. He rolled over and shook his head in an effort to clear it, and barely managed to dodge another attempted amphistaff strike. Now on his back, he watched as his opponent prepared for another strike...and noticed one area on his armor that didn’t seem so well protected. Tarris gripped his vibroshivs and waited. The Vong warrior raised the amphistaff, pointed the head at Tarris like a spear, and drove it downwards right towards his face. Tarris rolled just far enough to dodge, though he heard the staff scrape by his shoulder and could have sworn he felt something cut him. But before he could even consider that, he drove both vibroblades into the Vong warrior’s armpits, the one vulnerable area in the armor he wore. The warrior – and his armor, by the sounds of it – let out a great shriek of combined surprise and agony, and Tarris took the opportunity to roll away completely and start his own retreat back to the town.

      He didn’t have very far to go. Just as he got to his feet, the same shuttle he had come on appeared above him, hovering low enough for Tarris to climb in without them actually landing. Two of his comrades were leaning out, holding their hands out to catch him. Tarris glanced back over his shoulder at the Vong warrior, whose armor seemed to be having death throes with the Vong still inside of it, and took a great running leap into the transport. The other two Chiss caught him and hauled him inside. As the landing ramp closed and the transport turned its nose towards space, Tarris struggled to sit up.

     [Wait! Syal!]

     [We got her,] one of the other Chsis replied. [She got pretty far even on that leg of hers.]

     [Nothing an evening in a bacta tank won’t fix,] the team’s medic said gruffly as he came over to examine Tarris. [Let’s see your shoulder. Looks like your armor took some damage.]

      Tarris allowed the older man to help him out of his armor, and looked over at the soldiers occupying the shuttle. He took a quick headcount and immediately felt his heart sink when he realized that a few were missing, and there didn’t seem to be a single refugee among them. [What happened?]

     The commando who had shadowed him in the village grumbled, [They attacked right after you left. Killed everyone they could, even the kids and the old lady with them.] He gave a disgusted snort and added, [Damn monsters. Those people weren’t even armed, they didn’t stand a chance. They got some of us in the process too so the Admiral called a retreat.]

      Tarris gulped a little. The Admiral was his father. Thrawn had called a retreat...the situation must have been desperate. [We lost to them again,] he said quietly.

      The medic grabbed Tarris’s chin and turned his head so they were looking right into each other’s eyes. [We lost to them _this time_ ,] he said firmly. [But we won’t lose to them forever.]

      Tarris just nodded, and the medic went back to checking the young soldier over for injuries. He could be as confident as he wanted, but Tarris knew that the Chiss had been fighting the Yuuzhan Vong on and off since before anyone involved in the current battle had been born. They hadn’t been defeated yet. Was there really hope?

      A short time later, the shuttle landed on Thrawn’s flagship. They were among the last to land, and by the time Tarris was allowed out of the shuttle, the fleet had gone to hyperspace in search of a safer place to regroup. Tarris barely noticed what the others around him were doing, but when the soldier who exited with him snapped to attention, he finally noticed that something was up and raised his head to take a look. There, amidst a sea of Chiss warriors, medics, and maintenance crews, stood Thrawn, hands clasped behind his back as he observed the men and women disembarking from Tarris’s shuttle. The moment he saw his son, though, any pretense at military decorum dropped and he pushed through the crowd to where Tarris stood. Once there, he grabbed the other in a tight hug, kissing his forehead and refusing to let him go. Tarris immediately hugged Thrawn too, his hand grabbing at the back of Thrawn’s uniform jacket.

      “Where’s Dad?” he asked, voice muffled against Thrawn’s chest.

     “On one of the Republic ships,” Thrawn said. “He flew with his old friends today. Tamzyn is on the bridge and Thorin is in the med center.” Tarris jerked his head up in alarm, but Thrawn stroked his hair a little and said, “His partner was badly injured and he’s there to be supportive. He came through without even a scratch on him.”

     Tarris sighed in relief, then pulled away and drew himself to attention. “Sir, the mission failed,” he said. “We failed to rescue any of the planet’s inhabitants and we lost several of our people in the process.”

      “I know,” Thrawn said. “That’s why I called the retreat. And stand at ease, Tarris, I’m not through with making sure my son is alright.  I don’t need to see the soldier in front of me instead.”

      Tarris relaxed and bowed his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “We should have been able to do more...”

      Thrawn put an arm around his oldest son’s shoulders and started guiding him out of the hangar bay. “We did what we could. It failed because we’re still learning about this enemy. But at least we tried to do something. We can mourn the losses of the day, and we should, but we should also celebrate the fact that we stood up and tried to rescue people instead of just abandoning them to the Yuuzhan Vong. That’s more than a lot of people would have even considered.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “Despite the fact that we ultimately lost the last battle, I do think it helped us learn a few things about the enemy. It certainly confirmed that low-technology weapons are helpful against them,” Pellaeon said.

     “In the hands of trained warriors,” Thrawn added. “In the hands of those who have no idea what’s going on, they’re just dangerous.”

     Pellaeon nodded. “Agreed. ...Should I take this to mean that your oldest son is trained in hand-to-hand combat?”

     Tycho chuckled as Thrawn replied, “All Chiss soldiers are. They are also trained in piloting and the basics of espionage and infiltration. Military education among the Chiss is more a matter of specializing in one field while learning enough about the others to get by than it is about focusing on one area to the exclusion or near-exclusion of others.”

     Before anyone else could respond to that point, the door to the room where they were all meeting slid open and a single young, tense-looking Chiss officer stepped in. She gave the gathered officers a quick bow before making her way around the table to Thrawn and Tycho. She handed a datapad to Thrawn, then stepped back and clasped her hands behind her back to await instructions from him. Thrawn frowned and looked down at the datapad in his hand.

     “What’s that?” Tycho asked.

     Thrawn read the information carefully, and he turned a distinctly grey shade as he read. “Ar’alani,” he said. “This is a notice sent to all members of the Fleet announcing her death.”

     “What?” Tycho asked, gasping sharply.

     “Who?” Wedge asked, his voice clearly expressing the confusion everyone else at the table was feeling.

      Thrawn gulped a little. “Ar’alani was my superior officer when I was younger, before coming to the Empire. She retired before Tycho and I moved back to the Ascendancy. But when we came out here chasing the Vong, she left retirement to fill my spot in the Fleet.” He sighed. “She was also the biological mother of our twins. According to this, she was killed in a battle over Crustai.”

     “Vong?” Tycho asked.

     Thrawn nodded. “Yes. The colony was saved and their forces were pushed back, but Ar’alani’s ship was damaged beyond repair and most of the bridge crew was lost when the bridge defenses were breached. She survived with deadly injuries, ordered the rest of the crew to evacuate, and then flew the ship into the Vong’s lead capital ship. Both ships were destroyed...and of course Ar’alani did not survive.”

     Tycho leaned over a little to study the datapad. “You have to admit, that’s how she would have wanted to go. Not sitting around somewhere getting old and crotchety, like she thought would be her fate.”

     “We have to officially declare a state of mourning throughout our fleet,” Thrawn said. He began typing the order into the datapad.

     “What will that mean for your participating in our campaign here?” Pellaeon asked.

     “Nothing really,” Tycho said. “We’re committed out here so it’s not like we’re going to go back for the funeral or anything.” He seemed badly upset as he said that, but quickly pushed his feelings aside like a good Chiss officer. “You’ll see changes in our uniforms and of course plenty of people will be upset...but we’ll stay and continue fighting.” He rested his hand on Thrawn’s arm when the other finished typing his orders. “She would have wanted it that way.”

     Thrawn nodded in agreement and handed the datapad off to the young officer, who took it and bowed and rushed off to transmit his orders throughout the fleet. “We will make her proud.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Syal wandered through the halls of the Chiss capital ship, feeling completely and utterly lost. For the most part, the Chiss soldiers who passed her in the halls ignored her completely. A few nodded to acknowledge her presence, but nobody bothered her or stopped her. Finally, though, she stopped a passing pilot to ask where she might find Tarris, and he directed her to the ready room and barracks near the forward hangar bay. Syal scurried to the indicated area, straightened her flight suit, and knocked on the ready room door. She only waited a few seconds before a female Chiss pilot opened the door and gave her a curious look.

     “Hi,” Syal said awkwardly. She didn’t recognize the pilot, but it was possible she had been involved in the contest between Syal and Tarris that had turned into such a debacle. “Um. I’m looking for Tarris...Mitt’arri’selchu? I think that’s his full name?”

      The Chiss woman smirked at her and choked back a snicker at just how badly Syal mangled the name, then backed up and motioned for Syal to enter the room. “There,” she said, pointing to a table farther into the room, where Tarris was sitting with a small group of his closest friends.

     “Thanks,” Syal said, and she took a deep breath before stepping into the room and making her way between the various tables to Tarris. She paused behind him, and his friends all looked up and regarded her with great curiosity. It took Tarris a moment to notice that they were all looking at someone behind him, and he finally turned to see what they were looking at.

     He raised an eyebrow at Syal. “Can I help you, Flight Officer Antilles?” he asked her. “It’s good to see your people healed your leg as quickly as our medic thought might be possible. But you’re quite far from your own ship now.”

     “I know,” she said. “I came looking for you.”’

     Tarris sighed. “In case you haven’t heard, the woman I count as my mother in more ways than one died in battle a few days ago. I’m in mourning, which is something you would know if you knew how to read Chiss uniforms.” He motioned to his own clothes. He usually wore a black uniform with burgundy piping, shiny metallic rank insignia, and a colorful squadron badge. But that uniform had been replaced with one that was entirely black. The burgundy piping had been replaced by black, the shiny metallic rank insignia were now a dull dark grey, and the colorful squadron badge had been replaced with one in various shades of black and grey. Syal looked closer and noticed that Tarris had lined his eyes with a thick layer of matte black liner. A quick glance at the others around her confirmed that they were all wearing similar uniforms and makeup.

     “I know, and that’s why I’m here,” she said. Tarris gave her an incredulous look, and she fished in the pocket of her flight suit for a somewhat battered piece of bright pink cardstock she had scrounged up from who knew where. “I’m sorry about the color,” she said, “but it’s almost impossible to find paper around here and this is all I could find...anyway, this is for you and your brother and sister.” She held it out to him, and he took it, eyes searching her face for an explanation before he finally turned his attention to the actual paper.

     Syal had folded it in half and written _Condolences_ on the outside. The inside was full of carefully-written signatures, most of them attached to brief messages expressing the writers’ condolences on the death of Ar’alani. Syal and her squadmates had all signed the card, and it was clear she had gone around to as many other pilots she could find to have them sign the makeshift card too.

     “You’ll have to forgive me,” he finally said, “but my people don’t usually do things like this so I have no idea what you’re trying to accomplish.”

     “It’s a card,” she said. “I mean, it’s not a very pretty one, but it’s still a card. We’re all sorry about Ar’alani dying, and we wanted to let you know that.”

     “Did your father put you up to this?”

     “No.” She shook her head. “I did it myself.” She stood there for a bit, as they each eyed each other awkwardly, and then turned back to the door. “Well, I guess I should go then,” she said, and started back the way she had come.

     Tarris let her go for a bit, then got up and followed her. “Antilles, wait,” he said. Syal paused and turned to look at him. Tarris stopped just in front of her. “I...” he frowned a little, and paused as he hunted for the right words. “I think I misjudged you,” he finally said. “We’re the same age, but among my people, a 16-year-old has been an adult for three or four years. I know that’s not the case among humans, so I just assumed that...that you were a child. And I assumed that a child who had somehow made it into the adult role of pilot-warrior would be a bit full of herself. I wanted to bring you down a notch, to make you more humble and modest, but clearly that wasn’t the right thing for me to do. Not only was it not my job, but you didn’t need me to do that anyway because you’re not a child and you’re not full of yourself, as far as I can tell now. So...I...owe you an apology.”

     “Well, I was wrong too,” she said. She paused to push her hair back behind her ear, then added, “I mean, I thought you were just a snobby, stuck-up, out-for-himself asshole and that’s why you couldn’t be nice to anyone who hadn’t worked their way into your little clique...but I don’t think someone like that would have risked his life to save mine the way you did. So I guess we’re even then?”

     Tarris gave her a small smile and nodded. “I suppose we are,” he said. “You know...I’m sure my father would kill me if he ever heard me saying this, but I would still love to fly against you someday. Just for the fun of it.”

     “Maybe we can do it the next time we have some free time, then,” she suggested. “But just the two of us. Nobody watching.”

      “Agreed,” Tarris said. She grinned at him a little and turned to leave again, but Tarris reached out and grabbed her wrist. “Hang on!” he said. “I don’t know your schedule, or even what mine is going to be from day to day, how are we supposed to arrange this?”

     “Oh,” Syal said, giving him a sly little grin, “You’ll find my personal comm code on the back of the card.”

     Tarris let her go, and as she dashed off he turned the card over and studied the back. Just as she had said, her code was written almost imperceptibly on the back of the card. He studied it for a second, then grinned and folded the card so it was a little smaller and tucked it into his uniform pocket. He would definitely be calling to arrange that friendly competition soon. And, if he could work up the courage, maybe he could arrange some other things too.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

     Wedge knocked quietly on the door to Tycho and Thrawn’s quarters on board their ship. The Chiss officer who had brought him there stepped back so that he was against the opposite wall, arms clasped behind his back as he watched Wedge. The glowing gaze sent a small shiver up Wedge’s spine. The Chiss were like nothing he had ever seen, and he wondered how Tycho had ever gotten used to being surrounded by those glowing eyes. He couldn’t even tell where most Chiss were looking.

    The door in front of him slid open and he found himself face to face with Thrawn. “Hi,” he said. “Tycho’s not in?”

     “He is,” Thrawn replied. “Come in.” He stepped back and motioned for Wedge to enter. Wedge did, and Thrawn disappeared into another room.

     Wedge looked around the small but well-appointed living area and wondered how, exactly, they managed to have such a thing on board a ship. The room was decorated with a combination of art and family holos, and while he waited for Tycho he wandered around the room studying the various pieces. Much of the art made no sense to him, though some of the pieces evoked strong emotions in him. He noticed that some of them were draped in black cloth, and wondered why. Further inspection revealed that some of the holos were covered in the same black fabric as the art. He started to wonder if it had something to do with the entire Chiss fleet being in the middle of a mourning period.

    He paused in front of a holo featuring Tycho, Thrawn, and their three children. It looked recent – he could actually tell the two sons apart in the picture. He was about to pick it up for a closer look when Tycho appeared at his side. “We took that a couple of months before coming out here,” he said.

     “I was just thinking it looked recent,” Wedge said. “What’s with the art and holos that are covered?”

      Tycho glanced around quickly. “Well, the art is very cheerful art, or so Thrawn says. The holos are holos that include Ar’alani.” He glanced back towards the other door in the small apartment, then shrugged and picked up a covered holo. He uncovered it and handed it to Wedge. “She’s the white-haired woman. That’s a holo from when the twins were born.”

      Wedge stared at the picture, eyes darting from the white-haired woman to Thrawn and Tycho and the children in their arms. “I can see how your children wound up so attractive,” he said. “She was beautiful. And I hear she had the brains to match?”

     Tycho nodded and returned the picture to its normal spot, then covered it again. “She was brilliant. One of Thrawn’s superiors for years. They had an...interesting relationship, before he went to the Empire. It turned into a friendship when he came back, of course, and she wound up being my friend too. We owe a lot to her.”

      Wedge reached out and squeezed Tycho’s shoulder. “Listen, I was wondering if you want to come over to the _Home One_ for a drink.”

      “We’re on duty, we _can’t_ drink.”

      “Not even a fruit fizz?” Wedge asked. Tycho raised an eyebrow – something he must have learned from Thrawn, Wedge thought – and Wedge chuckled. “I know, it sounds like a kid’s drink, but like you said we’re on duty. Alcohol is off-limits...though I think we could all sneak a shot of Whyren’s Reserve in the late Admiral’s honor and still be okay.”

      Tycho considered, then gave Wedge a curt nod. “Just let me tell Thrawn where I’m going,” he said. As though summoned by their words, Thrawn stepped back into the main room, and Tycho went over to tell him what was going on. Thrawn just nodded in agreement and gave him a quick kiss before Tycho rejoined Wedge. “Let’s go,” he said. Wedge waved to Thrawn, who nodded to him in acknowledgement, and then they left.

     “I’m happy for you,” Wedge said as they headed for his shuttle in the hangar.

     “Why?” Tycho asked, giving him a curious look.

     “Well, when you left for the Unknown Regions with him, I was worried. It had been so long and you had been through so much...I didn’t think it was going to work and I thought you were going to be stuck out there with no real friends, no way back...but that’s clearly not what happened. I’m happy.”

      Tycho grinned. “Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate that.”

      Wedge flew them back to the _Home One_ and led Tycho to the makeshift club-like area that had been set up there. “Welcome to the latest incarnation of DownTime,” he said.

      Tycho laughed and looked around. “Not bad,” he said. “Never thought I would see something like this on a ship, though.”

     “Things have been rough,” Wedge said. “Not much chance for leave, but still a need for rest and recreation beyond what’s offered in the gym. So someone got the bright idea to make this place and it’s been very popular.”

     “I can see that,” Tycho said dryly, looking around the room. It was mostly packed with Republic and Imperial pilots, but here and there he could see a few Chiss mixed in with the group. He was surprised, but not at all upset. He and Thrawn had been encouraging the Chiss to mix with their new allies as much as possible, even to the point of encouraging them to participate in social events that took place during the official mourning period. Though many of the other officers in their command thought it was a bad idea, Tycho and Thrawn felt that the only way the alliance would work was if everyone trusted each other. And since they were the two most senior officers in the fleet, nobody could question them. Of course, most of the Chiss soldiers still followed Chiss ideals, but it seemed that at least some adventurous individuals had decided to go ahead and listen to their commanders’ suggestions and socialize with the others.

     “Is that your son with my daughter?” Wedge suddenly asked from Tycho’s side.

     Tycho looked where Wedge was. “...Yep, that looks like Tarris alright,” he said. “I hope they don’t start another fight,” he said, “I was looking forward to a relaxing evening.”

     Wedge watched the pair for a bit, until Syal tossed her head back and laughed. “Maybe they’re just trying to make up after that debacle with the sims,” he said. “Let’s let them be. Come on, the rest of the old crew wants to see you.”

      They worked their way deeper into the makeshift cantina, and before Tycho knew it he was surrounded by faces he hadn’t seen in almost two decades. Wes and Hobbie were the first to push through the crowd to greet him, followed almost immediately by Corran and Gavin. Wedge had to introduce him to the new members of Rogue Squadron, and then the settled in for a round of fruit fizzes as they talked.

       “Let the record reflect that Corran was not in fact wrong that Tycho had Imperial ties,” Nawara Ven joked as they sat down. “He was just dead wrong about the details.”

      “You win some, you lose some,” Tycho replied, and Corran raised his drink to him in a mock toast.

      “Seriously though,” Gavin said, “your military genius of a husband is going to come in handy now.”

     Tycho tilted his head a little and pondered Gavin’s words. “I would agree except that even Thrawn admits to struggling with figuring out ways to defeat these guys.”

      “I was just talking to some of the other Chiss officers and they said something about nets,” Wes said. Hobbie scowled at him, clearly thinking Wes was trying to make a joke. “What, I’m serious,” Wes said. “They were talking about shooting massive nets at the ships. Like Conner nets or something.”

      “Are you sure you got the whole conversation?” Tycho asked. When Wes shrugged, he added, “Ar’alani – the officer who just died – apparently she tried that and it didn’t work. Backfired horribly, in fact, and just make the Vong mad. It was worth a try, but...ultimately it cost her her life.”

      Wes wrinkles his nose a little and took a sip of his drink, while Wedge gave Tycho’s arm a quick pat. Hobbie rested his elbows on their table and leaned forward a bit. “But you guys have been fighting them for ages, haven’t you? And you haven’t come up with anything that really works?”

      “Not long-term, no,” Tycho admitted.

      They all sat in silence for a few moments, then Corran shifted and pulled a small wallet out of his pocket. “We finally get Tycho back for the first time in what, eighteen years, and all we can do is sit around being depressed? Come on, Rogues, we can do better than that.” He pulled a small holo out of the wallet and passed it to Tycho. “I hear you have kids too,” he said. “Those are mine and Mirax’s.”

      Tycho looked at the holo and grinned before passing it back to Corran. “I can see how they take after you two.” He jerked a thumb back towards the table Syal and Tarris had been occupying. “Don’t know if they’re still there, but the Chiss with Syal is one of mine, and there are two others. No holos on me though, sorry...”

      Wedge looked almost stung at that revelation. “You don’t carry pictures of your kids around?”

      Tycho laughed and took a deep gulp of his drink before continuing. “Wedge, I’ve spent the past eighteen years living in a culture of people who are known to hide the _existence_ of entire children from e _veryone_. There’s even a name for the practice. Nobody carries family holos or anything like that. Keeps the enemy from easily figuring out who your relatives are, or something like that.”

      “Seems a bit paranoid,” Corran said.

      “Chiss history doesn’t have much in the way of warfare in it,” Tycho said. “They’re not big on civil wars and most outside threats get dealt with quickly enough that calling the skirmishes a ‘war’ seems like a stretch to them. But there’s lot of political intrigue, backstabbing, coups, even assassinations. They have what are called Ruling Families and the number varies. Right now there are eight. Thrawn said there were nine when he came to the Empire but apparently one of them fell out of favor or something like that. It’s messy. I have to admit I’m kind of worried what’s going to happen now that Ar’alani isn’t around...I’ve always gotten the impression that she used her standing in society to shield me and Thrawn from a lot of things.”

     “Bet Thrawn didn’t like that much,” Wedge said.

     “Actually, he’s the one who pointed it out to me, and he had no problems with it,” Tycho said. “He’s married to a human, that brings a lot of flak his way.”

     “You two seem pretty stable though,” Wes pointed out.

      Tycho nodded. “Let’s just say that after being in the Empire, he has a pretty good handle of what I experience in Chiss culture. I’m not saying we didn’t have our problems, of course, but...”

      “Show me a couple that doesn’t have problems and I’ll show you people who could be rich for life from a couple of self-help datafiles,” Gavin replied.

     “I always knew I picked the wrong career,” Wedge quipped, and the others laughed.

     They chatted for a few more hours, then Wedge called a halt to the festivities when he noticed how late it had gotten. Before they all left, he went to the bartender to get several shot glasses and an unopened bottle of Whyren’s Reserve.

      “Wedge...” Tycho said, eyeing the bottle nervously.

      “One shot isn’t going to hurt us,” Wedge said, “Besides, no self-respecting Corellian has ever toasted the dead with a _fruit fizz._ ”

      Tycho had to agree with that, and he took the shot Wedge gave him without argument. When everyone in the group had a drink and the bottle had been safely capped and returned to the bartender, Wedge held his glass up. “I never met this Ar’alani you speak of, but I think she must have been one hell of a woman to have an entire fleet in mourning. So this is for her, and for all the other brave men and women we’ve lost. Let’s finish this thing fast so we don’t have to lose anymore.”

 

***    ***   ***

 

     “Ye Gods, for a second I thought they were going to come sit with us,” Syal muttered.

     Tarris chuckled a little. “Dad wouldn’t do that. [ _To’eyr_ ], on the other hand...”

     “Who?” Syal asked.

     [ _To’eyr_ ,] Tarris repeated. “You know him as Thrawn.”

     “Why do you call him...that word?” she asked.1

     Tarris finished his drink and beckoned a serving droid over to order another. “It’s the Cheunh word for Father,” he said. “So we all call him that because he’s our Chiss parent and for years we didn’t even know he spoke Basic.” Syal gave him a terribly confused look, so he added, “When we were small, he only spoke Cheunh to us and Dad only spoke Basic so we would learn both languages. It didn’t dawn on us for a while that at least one of them had to be bilingual to communicate, or that they had to have a third language they spoke together, or something.”

     “So how’d you figure it out?”

     Tarris smirked a little. “I swore in Basic in front of [ _To’eyr_.] Like, really awful swearing. He turned _purple_ he was so mad and started telling me off in Basic, and of course Dad heard and came in to see what was going on. ...I got in a lot of trouble for talking to one of my parents that way but it was hilarious to hear him speak Basic at first.”

     “I feel awful, all I speak is Basic,” Syal said, and laughed.

      “Maybe you can learn Cheunh. I hear it’s tough for humans but Dad did it and he does a good job speaking it.”

     “And why would I want to learn Cheunh? Sure, you Chiss are here now, but before you showed up I’d never even heard of you.”

     Tarris shrugged. “Well, it would make you more popular with the guys. Chiss men like women who can handle a stick well.”

      Syal smirked. “That was the most obvious sex joke I have ever heard.”

      He laughed. “Sorry. I should know better than to try.”

     “We can let that one slide,” she said primly.

     “But seriously though. We’re here now, right, and you know the galaxy isn’t going to be the same when this is all over...I bet humans who can interact with Chiss on their terms will be in demand, and vice versa.”

     “I’ll think about it.”

      He leaned forward so he could speak more quietly. “How about if I beat you in the sim tomorrow, you have to come learn some of my language?”

      She leaned forward too, and said, “There’s not a chance you’re going to beat me, but you’re on. And if I win, you have to...Hmm.”

      “Hmm?”

      “Well, I’m tempted to make you do something like run through the halls of the _Home One_ stark naked, but I bet your parents would kill you.”

      He nodded and shuddered. “And then find a way to bring me back so they could kill me all over again.”

     Syal laughed. “Fine. If I win, you owe me dinner. An expensive dinner, on Coruscant.”

      “You think I’ll survive that any better? Your dad won’t kill me instead?”

      She shrugged. “Hard to say. I mean, he has this idea that I have to be a kid forever, but...I think he forgets what he was like at my age. He had to grow up fast and all and it didn’t hurt him.”

      Tarris twisted around to glance at the group of older pilots deeper in the cantina, and shook his head a little. “Or maybe he remembers, and he’s trying to save you from his fate.”

     The look on Syal’s face clearly said she had never considered that before, and she sipped quietly at her drink while she thought. “Maybe you’re right,” she said.

      “Dinner, but I’ll talk to your father first so he doesn’t try to kill me by the end of the night.”

      “It’s a deal.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Thrawn gripped the arms of his command chair on board his flagship as he watched the replay of Ar’alani’s final battle. It had been brutal, for both sides, and knowing how it ended didn’t make watching it any better. If anything, knowing the outcome made watching it just that much worse, because he couldn’t even take pleasure in the times the Chiss forces managed to do serious damage to the Vong forces in any way. He felt his stomach twist every time Ar’alani tried a tactic he had been considering, only to have it fail or have completely unintended results. The nets were the worst – Thrawn had thought for sure they would at least slow the Vong ships down long enough for the Chiss forces to regroup a little, but they had been about as effective as spraying viewport cleaner on a hawkbeetle. All it did was make the beetle mad and wet.

     The battle finally ended with Ar’alani’s dying flagship smashing into the Vong’s worldship, essentially destroying it and sending the now-uncoordinated Vong forces scurrying for cover. The remaining Chiss forces destroyed what they could of the remaining Vong forces, and the rest they chased out of the system. The recording dissolved into static, and Thrawn turned the player off.

     [What are you going to do?] a female voice asked behind him, and Thrawn jumped. That voice sounded so much like Ar’alani that it startled him. But he turned to look, and instead of Ar’alani he saw his very alarmed daughter approaching him instead.

     [You startled me,] he said. [You sound so much like her sometimes.]

     She grinned a little. [I’m sorry about the first bit but I take the second as a compliment.] She waved at the empty air where the holovid had recently been projected. [But the question still stands. What are you going to do?]

     [That I don’t know yet,] Thrawn admitted. [Ar’alani tried a lot of the things I was thinking of. And most of them failed, some so badly that they only made the situation worse.]

     Tamzyn nodded and tapped her chin. At that moment, Thrawn felt that she resembled Tycho more. [Maybe the answer is to try something that’s never been tried before,] she said.

     [There’s not much out there that hasn’t been tried before,] he said, [but if you have an idea...]

     She shook her head. [I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about gravity wells and how they all seem to rely on them, and wondering what would happen if we used Interdictors against them.]

     Thrawn considered the idea. [What would we do with the Interdictors?] he asked, both as a way to think out loud and as a way to elicit more ideas from his daughter. [The ones that exist now are made more to bring other ships out of hyperspace. It’s seems like a different principle than what the Vong technology does, since theirs seems more like attaching black holes to their ships’ noses.]

     [I’m not so sure about that,] she said. [Just because nobody has ever brought a moon crashing down with an Interdictor doesn’t mean it can’t happen, only that nobody has ever tried. And just because the Vong don’t seem to use their ships to pull others out of hyperspace doesn’t mean it’s not possible either.]

     Thrawn didn’t bother hiding the shiver that went up his spine at the mention of Sernpidal, the planet that had died when the Vong used their technology to bring its moon down. [We can investigate this more,] he finally said, [but I want to make sure anything we do with it will be scientifically sound. It seems that the pilots have begun using the tactic of exhausting the enemy’s tools with weak shots first, so that when they return to using full-power shots the Vong’s technology can’t handle it. Perhaps if we can find a way to weaken them faster, or a way to disrupt the activities of their war coordinator, we can turn the tide a bit.]

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “Tamzyn suggested using Interdictors against the Vong.”

     Pellaeon eyed Thrawn over the rim of his teacup, then finally took a sip of the cup’s contents. Thrawn had finally gotten around to introducing the human Admiral to Chiss tea, and Pellaeon wasn’t sure how he felt about the beverage yet. He usually preferred something stronger and more alcoholic, but had decided to follow the lead of his Republic and Chiss allies and skip the alcohol for the time being. But this tea was something else. It wasn’t unpleasant, but he wasn’t used to anything called ‘tea’ being as thick, creamy, and spicy as this beverage was. He made a mental note to ask Tycho Celchu how he had gotten used to the stuff, and even come to enjoy it.

     “Did she say why she thought it might work?” he finally asked Thrawn.

     “Not exactly,” Thrawn replied. “I think she was just looking for something that hadn’t been tried before, especially since Ar’alani’s last battle proved the failure of so many of the things I had been considering.”

     Pellaeon sighed a little. “I know you practically worship this woman, at least as close as you ever get to worshipping anybody –“

     “Don’t bring Tycho into this.”

     “Those are two completely different types of ‘worshipping’,” Pellaeon said dryly, and Thrawn chuckled a little. “Anyway, as I was saying, I know you admired her immensely, but maybe you should consider that it’s not her techniques that failed. Maybe it was her tactics. Or do you mean to tell me that she was as brilliant as you?”

     Thrawn hesitated. He didn’t like to speak ill of the dead, and he had never liked to think of Ar’alani as somehow lesser than himself. But he had to admit that Pellaeon did have a point. Ar’alani had been a brilliant officer and he had learned a lot from her during his time as her subordinate. But even she had acknowledged his skills and his talent for figuring out the things nobody else could. He didn’t like to think about it, but it was possible that Ar’alani’s techniques had been sound but that her implementation of them hadn’t worked. It made him feel sick to think that, had he been there, she might still be alive.

     “I suppose you’re right,” he said. “In which case, we need to analyze the recording and see what might be worth trying again.”

      “We should run some simulations based on your daughter’s idea about the Interdictors too,” Pellaeon said. “Who knows, she could be on to something.”

     Thrawn nodded. “It’s a pity Tamzyn chose to go into piloting. She could have been the next Ar’alani someday.”

      “Or the next Thrawn. Even you can’t explain how you do what you do, maybe she can do something like that too.”

     Thrawn grinned. “True. Well then. Let’s get to work on that recording, shall we?”


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

     They never got the chance to test Tamzyn’s theory in the simulators. They had only just set up some sims to act as Interdictors, and had only just begun devising ways to use their gravity well projectors as weapons, when the biggest Vong attack they had yet encountered hit. And before Thrawn or anyone else knew what was going on, they were embroiled in a fight for their lives.

     The Vong attack was fast, merciless, and focused almost entirely on the capital ships. Even the coralskippers wasted little time with the Chiss, Republic, and Imperial snubfights sent out to handle them. Thrawn and the other officers on bridges throughout the fleet watched in sheer horror as coralskippers cut through ranks of X-wings and clawcraft and every other snubfighter present as though they were nothing. If a coralskipper was damaged beyond the possibility of surviving, it would simply hurl itself into the shields or hulls of the nearest capital ship or wait until it was surrounded by non-Vong ships and then self-destruct. This new tactic destroyed a huge swathe of the allied snubfights in minutes. Thrawn wondered why the possibility of an attack like this hadn’t occurred to him before, and with every loss announced over the comm channels he felt more and more ill, as though a black hole were opening in the pit of his stomach.

     But there was little he could do about the snubfighters. Dealing with them wasn’t his job. He had to come up with some other solution…but what? What could they possibly do against a force that was clearly willing to sacrifice so many of its own warriors just to defeat the enemy?

     “Watch it, watch it!” Pelleon’s voice sounded in his ear. Thrawn quickly pressed a few buttons on his command console, muting the non-command channels so he could hear the other officers’ communications more clearly. “Get those starboard shields fixed!”

     “Can’t sir, we lost the techs!” an unfamiliar voice said.

     “Then find another ship with working shields we can hide behind! We can’t be unprotected in the middle of this!”

     Thrawn watched his command consoles for a few moments and listened to the chatter, then keyed his come to Pellaeon’s personal channel. “Do we still have those Interdictors?” he asked.

     “Of course, but we never got to test that theory!” Pellaeon replied. Thrawn winced a little at the beginnings of panic he could hear in the other Admiral’s voice.

     “I don’t think we have a choice,” he said. “Tell them to bring up their gravity wells, as high as they can go. I want to try something.” He waited just long enough to hear Pelleon’s acknowledgement of the order, then switched to the channel he shared with Tycho. “How is it out there?”

     “No time for chatter!” came the tense snarl of a reply.

     “Understood. Try to herd some of the coralskippers together,” Thrawn said. “And call for one of the Inderdictors while you do. See if they can hold the Vong snubs in place.”

     “What are you –“

     Thrawn shook his head. “Just do it!” He didn’t wait for Tycho’s reply, though a quick glance at his consoles confirmed that Tycho and the pilots he commanded were rushing to comply. Satisfied, he switched to one more channel, the one connecting him to the officers in command of the ships in his fleet. [Prepare your nets,] he said. [I want each of you to ally with an Interdictor. When they have _any_ Vong ships in any way compromised, fire the nets. Try to get groups of coralskippers if you can. Don’t use nets needlessly.] He got a chorus of acknowledgements and flipped his comm back to the communal channel the fleets were using, eyes fixed on his consoles.

     _This better help somehow,_ he thought, _because if it doesn’t I think I’m out of ideas._

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “ _Herd_ the Vong?” Tamzyn exclaimed into her comm. “That’s _insane_.”

     “It’s also your order,” Tycho’s voice snapped. “So get to it.”

     “On it,” she replied. “Come on, pilots, you heard the man, let’s see if we can become Vong-wranglers!” Her call was answered by a series of clicks, but was otherwise met with silence. She found the cold efficiency of her pilots to be comforting. There probably wasn’t much else she could control in this battle, but no matter how bad it got, she knew her pilots would do their best. They couldn’t do any less.

     Tamzyn swung around to face an oncoming wave of coralskippers and let her eyes dart around to find a place to bring them. There, just passing behind several of the Star Destroyers and angling as though to enter the battle, she spied one of the Interdictor cruisers and an escort of two Chiss capital ships. She assumed it was the one Tycho had called for, since none of the other cruisers in the area were close enough to her position. “Let’s lead ‘em to the Cruiser,” she said, and as another chorus of acknowledging clicks sounded through her comm, she opened fire on the nearest coralskipper to make sure she had its attention. The rocky fighter ignored her for a moment, then swung towards her and opened fire as well. Tamzyn jerked the stick and made the sharpest turn she could, her wingmate sticking by her the whole time, and made for the cruiser’s shadow. A quick glance at her tactical readout showed that her pilots were following her, either chasing or being chased by Vong ships in the process.

     Thrawn’s voice crackled through the speakers. “All snubfighters, use caution near the Interdictors, we don’t want you caught in the nets too.”

     _Nets?_ That didn’t make sense. Interdictors didn’t have…and then it dawned on her. Of course! Interdictors didn’t have nets, but the _Chiss ships did_. Thrawn had found a way to use the Interdictors after all, not that she knew the details of his plan. She only hoped it would work. Glancing at her tactical display once more, she noticed that the cruiser’s gravity wells were rapidly coming on line, and that a rather large group of coralskippers were flying right into the gravity cone the cruiser’s wells produced. She waited just a few more seconds until more Vong ships were in range and the gravity cone was stronger, then broke her flight path and dove, gunning hard for clear space. Though the gravity  cones wouldn’t be enough to keep any of the snubfighters in one place, she guessed that the Chiss ships would be gunning for whatever was within the gravity cones when they were prepared to attach. “Pilots, out of the gravity cone, now!” She looked up at the Chiss ships alongside the Interdictors and added, [They’re all yours, Captains, net yourselves some Vong.]

     She heard a distinctly dark chuckle in her ear, a brief acknowldgement of her message from one of the Chiss captains she had addressed, and then saw the reflected light from the brilliant flashes indicating the release of a Conner-type net. She didn’t turn around to look – there were more coralskippers in front of her to take care of – but she allowed herself the luxury of watching events unfold on her tactical display. For a moment, the group of coralskippers caught in the net glowed brightly on her dislay, and then the light indicating their presence flickered out.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “It worked!” Syal’s voice said. “It worked!”

     “Yeah, once, let’s see if it’ll work again!” Tarris replied. He and Syal had set up their shared comm channel the previous evening, and had only now decided to give it a try. Tarris had been surprised to find that Syal’s near-constant commentary on the battle had been reassuring. It meant she was still out there, still going strong. “The gravity cones seemed to confuse the coralskippers…”

     “They’ve got those wells turned up really high,” Syal said. “I’m not surprised it messes with the Vong ships. They rely on manipulating gravity quite a bit.”

     Tarris just nodded and dove out of the way of an oncoming missle. The projectile sailed by above him and struck the coralskipper that had been tailing him instead. “One less to deal with,” he muttered. “Too many more to go.”

     “We’ve got to take the capital ships out,” Syal said.

     “Really? Never would have guessed,” Tarris replied through gritted teeth as he continued dodging ships. “Don’t think we can do it though.”

     “We’re kind of screwed until we do…”

     Something hit Tarris’s clawcraft and grunted as he was thrown against the side of his cockpit. He quickly assessed his situation. Nothing seemed to be badly damaged, and he could still maneuver well, so he decided the hit couldn’t have been that bad. “We’re kind of screwed no matter what so let’s focus on the coralskippers,” he finally said. “Leave the capital ships to the big guns.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “We don’t have nets big enough for the capital ships, do we?” Pellaeon’s voice said.

     “Not single nets, no,” Thrawn replied. “But I don’t think we’ll need them. The Interdictor gravity wells seem to…confuse or somehow manipulate the coralskipper’s gravity, perhaps they will do the same for the larger ships.”

     Pellaeon snorted. “It’s quite a gamble.”

     “But one we have to take, I’m afraid. We have to end this here, and quickly.” He eyed his console’s tactical displays and then glanced out the forward viewports. There were still dozens of coralskippers out there, and he couldn’t be certain that there weren’t more lying in wait on the Vong capital ships, but for now their numbers seemed a bit more manageable for his own side’s pilots to handle. Which meant that, at least for a time, he could focus his Interdictors on something else.

     He made sure his comm was keyed to the common channel he shared with all of the commanders before speaking. “Have the Interdictors focus on their central ship, since it seems to be the focus of everything they’re doing. Assign the Imperial fleet and a part of the Republic fleet to keep the other capital ships occupied. The rest of our ships will attack our main target once the Intedictors have it cornered.”

     A chorus of agreement came over the comm, and for a moment Thrawn wished someone would argue with him. It was an untried plan, based on hunches and untested theories, and that uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach still hadn’t gone away. But there was no time for aguing anyway, no time to refine the idea further, and so he was force to let it go and hope his idea would work.

     It’s not like he or anyone else would have much time to think about it if the plan failed.

     Every second it took for the Interdictors to move into position felt like an eternity, and by the time they were where he needed them and focusing their gravity wells on the Vong ship, Thrawn was gripping the arms of his command chair hard enough to leave nail marks in the padding. [Updates?] he called to his bridge crew.

     At first, he got no reply. But then, one of his officers said, [The enemy ships aren’t responding as normal, sir. It’s as though they’re confused…especially the coralskippers.]

      And indeed, as Thrawn watched the battle outside of his viewports and followed their progress on his tactical readouts, he could clearly see that _something_ just wasn’t right with the Vong’s forces. The capital ships seemed to be firing haphazardly, and the Imperial and Republic ships attacking them were getting more and more hits in. The coralskippers, meanwhile, flew poorly – one dove nose-first into another coralskipper, another crashed headlong into a Vong capital ship, and a third managed to fly right into oncoming fire from a pair of X-wings.

      [Any further orders, sir?] his communications officer asked.

      Thrawn considered his options for a moment, then double-checked that the comm channel that would allow him to speak to the entire allied fleet was still open. “Keep an eye out for surprises, but engage at will. They’re imploding. Let’s speed the process along.”


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

 

     The party celebrating the end of the Vong lasted for days. At least, that was how Tycho planned to tell the story in the future. It seemed like every ship wanted to host their own celebration, and Tycho, Thrawn, and the other officers were expected to attend every one. Not that Tycho minded, really, but by the time the last party ended, he was about ready to collapse. _I don’t know which was harder, those last few battles or those last few bottles._

     Miraculously enough, he woke up in his own bed in the quarters he shared with Thrawn on their flagship, and for several long minutes he just lay there savoring the feeling of soft sheets and a plush mattress. Now, if only he didn’t have to drag himself out of bed for the rest of the day…and if only he could be rid of the pounding in his head…He wondered if it would be unseemly to retire at his age…

     “Good morning, sunshine,” Thrawn’s voice said from somewhere near the foot of the bed.

     “Ugh Force don’t talk, my head is killing me,” Tycho groaned.

     “I’m hardly surprised,” Thrawn replied in something of a loud whisper. Tycho felt the bed shift beside him, and then felt Thrawn’s arms around him. “You were responsible for the untimely demise of several bottles of fine alcoholic beverages all on your own over the past few days.”

      Tycho just grumbled and rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around Thrawn and burying his face against the other man’s shoulder. “Did I enjoy it at the time?”

     “Oh yes, very much so from the looks of it.” Thrawn rubbed his back a little and kissed his hair. “Come on, I’m sure some breakfast and a warm shower will help you feel better. If not, perhaps a visit to the med station before our meeting will do the trick.”

      “…What genious scheduled a _meeting_ today?” Tycho asked.

      Thrawn chuckled a little and nipped at Tycho’s ear, which just earned him a groan and a whack on the arm. “Pellaeon, apparently. And we agreed to it despite our better judgment. But now, it must be done, and you can’t show up hung over and wearing just your underwear so up you get.” The Chiss rolled out of bed and pulled the blankets back in the hopes of encouraging Tycho to follow.

     It took a little more prodding, but eventually Tycho did indeed get out of bed. By the time he had showered and finished breakfast, his headache was mostly gone. Nothing a few small painkillers couldn’t handle. For the first time he could remember, he was grateful for the Chiss preference for low lighting. With breakfast finished and his medication taken, he followed Thrawn to the shuttle that would take them to the _Chimaera._

     Pellaeon was waiting for them there, and Tycho was amused to note that the older Admiral seemed to have enjoyed the party quite a bit too. Though his appearance was mostly neat and appropriate for one of his rank, he still looked a bit worn out, and not just from the fighting. Tycho grinned and saluted, then shook Pellaeon’s hand. “Did you enjoy the festivities, Admiral?”

     “Of course, General. I don’t suppose the Chiss have invented time travel yet though, have they?”

      “Sadly no,” Thrawn said. “Why?”

      “Because I want to go back in time and slap myself for suggesting a meeting at this hour,” Pellaeon said. The others laughed, and he motioned for them to follow him. “I suppose you’ll be going back to Chiss space when we’re finished cleaning up here?”

      Thrawn nodded “Of course. We have obligations there. I received word this morning that the forces attacking our colonies were beginning to withdraw, but I suspect they will not go quietly and I intend to be there to make sure they do as little damage as possible.” He paused, then added, “Also, my brother informed me that they plan to hold a special ceremony for Ar’alani when Tycho and I return, and it would be rude of us to drag the wait for that out too long.”

     Pellaeon nodded. “I understand, of course. Though it would be wonderful if you could stay longer…ah well. Duty calls and people like us must always answer. Anyway, I wanted to meet you for a reason today.”

      “Oh?” Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “You have managed to pique my curiosity, Gilad.”

       “Good! It’s about time I got to surprise you with something!” the older man said, grinning broadly. “Here.” They paused outside of a room, just long enough for Pellaeon to swipe his identification card in the lock, and then he ushered them inside. “I told you I kept all of your things, didn’t I? Well…I thought you might want them back. The art, at least, is almost certainly worth keeping, don’t you think? I had much of it appraised shortly after you left. You had some valuable things here.”

      Thrawn’s eyes widened as he moved around the room, studying the pieces carefully as he went. Tycho followed, occasionally letting his fingers trail over a sculpture or a frame. “Some of these should be in museums,” he said.

      “There are museums on Csilla,” Thrawn said a bit absent-mindedly. “And at the academies.”

      “So you’ll take them, then?” Pellaeon asked.

      The Chiss Admiral nodded a bit, then turned back to his old friend. “Most of them,” he said. “I think some of the pieces should stay here, though. I’ll leave you in charge of choosing which ones. Send most of them to museums, like Tycho suggested. But…keep something for yourself. I rather like the idea of some of these things staying here with a friend.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “Just how attached _were_ you to this guy?” Thorin asked over dinner that night.

      Thrawn laughed. “He was a good friend and good officer, Thorin, why are you so surprised?”

     “Maybe because you never just give art away,” Tamzyn said dryly. “I’m almost scared to ask for art presents in case you decide to keep it for yourself instead!”

     “Now, my dear, I would never do that to you. I would mere insist that you kept your art someplace we could all see it,” Thrawn said, leaning over to kiss his daughter’s cheek. She grinned at him and laughed.

      Tarris fidgeted in his seat for a bit, then cleared his throat. “So…we’re all supposed to leave tomorrow, right? Something about a big goodbye gathering, and then we go back to the Ascendency?”

      Tycho nodded. “That’s the plan anyway. Why, is something wrong?”

      “Not wrong, no,” Tarris said. “But…I wanted to know your opinion on something.” When his parents and siblings were both completely focused on him, he continued. “I…have been thinking of staying out here.” His statement was met with various murmurs of surprise. “Look, I know it’s sudden, but I’ve been thinking about things…how I acted towards Syal when I met her, and all the people out here I could meet…there’s so much I could learn, and so much I could do for relations between the Chiss and the folks out here, but…not if I go back with you. Not if I just go hide myself in the Ascedency again. So I want to stay here, at least for a little while.”

      Thrawn opened and closed his mouth a few times, then looked at Tycho. “I…I don’t know…”

     “We can’t really stop him, Thrawn,” Tycho said softly, though it was clear from his face that he was struggling with the idea of losing Tarris. “We’ll miss him, but we can’t stop him from staying here if it’s what he wants.”

      Thorin touched his brother’s arm. “What will you do?”

     “Fly,” Tarris said. “I already talked to General Antilles about it. He says I can probably get into a squadron without going through the Academy again.”

     “You know you probably won’t be in Rogue Sqadron,” Tycho said. “I know they had some losses in the last battle, but the competition to fill those spots will be tough and they’ll probably go to established Republic pilots.”

      Tarris blushed a little and nodded. “That’s fine. I…don’t know if I want to be in Rogue Squadron anyway. It would be nice but it’s not really that important to me.”

      Thrawn raised an eyebrow a bit, then nodded and smiled at Tarris. “I think I understand. I…can’t promise to never be worried about you. But I can give you my blessing.”

      “Me too,” Tycho said, reaching across the table to squeeze Tarris’s hand. “But only if you promise to be careful, and call home often, and _come_ home often too.”

      “I promise,” Tarris said. “As often as I can.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The three allied fleets gathered for one last time the following day. Pellaeon had clearly coordinated with his Republic counterparts to give the Chiss a memorable send-off. Trying to count the number of soldiers arranged in neat ranks to give the Chiss a proper farewell was an impossible task, though that didn’t stop Tycho from trying. But he was soon distracted by his friends, and the last chance he would have to say goodbye to them.

      “I was hoping you could stay longer, you know,” Wedge said as he stopped in front of Tycho.

      “Maybe next time,” Tycho said. “Or hey, you should come visit us!”

      “Yeah?” Wedge asked. “I like that idea. I’m not letting it go another eighteen years between visits this time, you know.”

     Tycho laughed and embraced his old friend. “Ah Wedge, you better not. And…I know you’re busy and all, but keep an eye on Tarris, would you?”

     Wedge pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m pretty sure he and Syal will be spending a lot of time together, so don’t worry, it’ll be impossible for me _not_ to watch him.”

     “Glad to hear it,” Tycho replied. He gave Wedge’s shoulder a quick squeeze before turning to his other friends, who had appeared at his side while he spoke to the Corellian pilot. “I was just telling Wedge he should come visit us sometime. And the rest of you should too, you know.”

      “Sounds like a plan,” Wes said. “You bring the ice planet and we’ll bring the party.”

      “Don’t even talk about parties,” Hobbie groaned. “I’m still recovering from the last one.”

     Gavin shook his head. “Am I really the only one here who _didn’t_ get a hangover?”

     “Looks that way, kid,” Corran said. Gavin just rolled his eyes in mock exhasperation while the others laughed.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     “I hope your people realize how lucky they are to be getting you back,” Pellaeon said.

     “Oh, I think they realized it a while ago,” Thrawn replied. “But things change slowly amongst the Chiss sometimes. …But somehow I don’t think that’s what you meant, is it, Gilad?”

     Pellaeon laughed and shook his head. “Well, short of tying you to your command chair there’s no way for me to keep you here, and you know it.”

     Thrawn just chuckled and shook his head, reaching up to rest his hand on Pellaeon’s shoulder. “You will come to visit sometime, won’t you?”

     The Corellian drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “I don’t know. I’m old, Thrawn. And I’ve been doing this since I was technically too young for it. I think it might be just about time for me to retire to some quiet little backwater and just stay there.”

     “You don’t mean that,” Thrawn said. “You would be bored within a week.”

      “And what makes you say that?”

     “I know which art you chose to keep,” Thrawn said, giving his friend a sly grin. “And I spent an awful long time studying all of it, remember?”

     “Leave it to you!” Pellaeon exclaimed. “They better figure out how to bottle that genius of yours, you know.”

     “You’ll have your fill of Chiss geniuses while I’m gone. My son is staying here, to fly for the Republic.”

     “So I’ve heard. How do you feel about that?”

     Thrawn smiled a little. “Like any other father leaving his son behind, I suppose. But I’m proud of him. We both are.”

     Any reply Pellaeon had was interrupted by the arrival of Thrawn’s aide, who paused a respectful distance away and clasped her hands behind her back as she watched the two officers. “Well, that looks like your cue,” Pellaeon said.

      Thrawn nodded and gave Pellaeon a quick hug. “Take care of yourself then, Gilad. And if you _do_ get bored, remember my invitation. It’s always open for you.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho and Thrawn both had to work their way through huge crowds to make their escape, and both had to pause frequently to exchange handshakes and brief greetings with beings they barely knew who just wanted to have their few minutes of history with the legendary Thrawn and Tycho. But they finally made it to their chosen exit, where they paused just long enough to turn and salute the gathered crowd. Behind them, the other Chiss soldiers who had attended the send-off were already filtering out of the room and making their way to their transports. Tycho and Thrawn joined them, and before long they arrived at the landing pad where their shuttle waited. A lone Chiss stood at the base of it, maintaining the perfect posture of a soldier waiting for his superiors…but not dressed in the normal CEDF uniform. Instead, he wore the casual day-to-day uniform of a Republic pilot. As soon as he saw Thrawn and Tycho, Tarris relaxed and headed in their direction. They met a short distance from the shuttle.

     “Did you get your assignment yet?” Tycho asked him.

     Tarris nodded. “Blue squadron,” he said. “But everyone seems to think it’s temporary.”

     Tycho just nodded a bit, then reached out to pull his son into a tight hug. “They’re a good group. You’ll be happy there. Just…take care of yourself and come home in one piece, and don’t get too distracted by anything or anyone, and never _ever_ forget that I’m so proud of you.”

     Tarris just hugged Tycho tightly, sniffing a bit as he tried not to do the very un-Chiss-like thing of crying. “I’m going to miss you…”

     “I know,” Tycho said. “But this isn’t like when I went to Chiss space. You know you can go back and forth whenever you want.”

     Thrawn hugged Tarris next. [Don’t forget where you come from,] Thrawn said. [But don’t let it get in your way either.]

     [Of coure not,] Tarris agreed. [Take care of everyone. Unless they insist of taking care of you instead, then just sit back and enjoy it.]

     Thrawn laughed and gave Tarris one last pat on the back before letting him go. “Be safe.”

      “Clear skies all the way home,” Tarris replied. He went to stand a safe distance away, but stayed on the landing platform watching the shuttle take off and fly away until he couldn’t see any trace of it any more.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, folks this is it! The last chapter of the longest story I have ever written (counted by any measure). I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it too. If you did, please leave me a comment or kudos and let me know! Thank you so much for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos.
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains sadness, non-violent character deaths, and a sappy ending. You'll want some tissues for this.

**Chapter 45 – about 20 years later**

 

     The intervening years were quiet and peaceful – well, as quiet as they ever got in Chiss space – and full of happy events for Thrawn and Tycho. Thrawn retained his position as Admiral, though as time went on he gradually shifted from spending his time away from home on missions to spending his time leading the section of the fleet that protected Csilla. Tycho eventually became what he called “semi-retired,” meaning that he took up a teaching post at the newly-establishd Csilla branch of the Ascendency’s military academy. Occassionally he still flew, but it was mostly just for show or to demonstrate techniques to his students. Tarris remained in the Core, where he became a distinguished pilot…and Syal Antilles’s partner, though it didn’t seem that an official marriage was anywhere in their future. Tamzyn was promoted through the ranks and seemed well on her way to following in Tycho’s footsteps, while Thorin eventually became more of an academic than an active-duty soldier and found that he was in demand both in Chiss space and in the Core. Thrass considered retiring from politics, but was convinced to stay on as Aristocra until he simply couldn’t work anymore. As he much preferred being busy to being bored, he happily accepted his position. Indeed, things were quite happy for their family. The only thing that would have made Thrawn and Tycho happier was seeing Tarris more, but they understood why he couldn’t visit more often. He made up for it with calls home, though.

     All of which just made it that much more difficult for Thrawn to face it when reality came crashing down around him.

     Thrawn hesitated in the door to Tycho’s office, gripping the door jamb so hard it turned his knuckles white. He didn’t want to set foot in that room and have the conversation he knew they had to have. He really just wanted to stand there forever, watching Tycho work. The human General’s head was bent over his desk as he worked on a lesson plan for his classes the next day. His hair was more grey than blonde these days, and sometimes Thrawn was convinced that his eyes and face showed every second of pain Tycho had ever been through. But then Tycho would catch sight of Thrawn or a holo of his children, or would think of some old memory that brought a smile to his face, and it was like the pain of the past had never happened. Or there would be times like this, when he was so focused on the task at hand, and a look of quiet determination would take over. Thrawn liked that look.

     But finally, he knew he couldn’t wait any longer. Tycho wasn’t going to be sitting at that desk forever and the sooner they got this conversation over, the better it would be for both of them. He stepped into the room and quietly cleared his throat to get Tycho’s attention. Tycho glanced up and flashed him a smile.

     “Almost done,” he said, indicating the lesson plan before him.

     Thrawn nodded and carefully settled into the chair beside Tycho’s desk, reaching up to run a hand through his own hair, which had turned mostly grey in the time that had passed since they helped defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. “Mind if I keep you company, then?”

     “Not at all.” Tycho moved some books and datacards away from the edge of his desk so Thrawn could lean on it, if he wanted to, then went back to typing some notes into his datapad. He was finished within a few minutes. Finally, he saved his work and shut the datapad off and turned to give Thrawn his full attention. “And how are you today, my love?”

     Somehow, that just made Thrawn feel worse about what he had to do. “...We need to talk about something,” he said.

     The smile faded from Tycho’s face and he sat up straighter, turning his head just a little bit so he was looking at Thrawn out of the corners of his eyes rather than facing him directly. “What about?”

     Thrawn took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he watched Tycho. “I went to the doctor last week,” he said.

     “I know,” Tycho said. “You said they had to wait for the results of the tests.”

     The Chiss nodded and looked away. “...I lied about that. They were able to get the results while I was there. These things just don’t take that long. But I couldn’t tell you then, because I didn’t know how to and because when I tell you, it’s all going to be real and I can’t pretend that things are okay anymore. I don’t want to hurt you or scare you, but we need to have this conversation while...” he paused for a second to regain his composure, “while I still can.”

     “What do you mean, while you still can?” Tycho said. “You’re fine.”

     But both of them knew that wasn’t true. Though they hadn’t talked about it beyond discussing Thrawn’s decision to undergo some additional tests at his annual checkup, both of them knew that things hadn’t been right with Thrawn and that his health had been deteriorating for some time. They had both just brushed it aside as the effects of getting older. Neither of them were young anymore. Even by human standards they were old enough to be grandparents, though so far none of their children had shown any inclination to have children of their own. So it didn’t seem odd to either of them that Thrawn was often stiff in the morning, was more forgetful than he had been before, and had various other aches and pains that made aspects of everyday life more difficult for him. But it was harder to overlook the changes in his attitude, the mood swings that sent him from deliriously happy to depressed or enraged in seconds, or the headaches that were often so bad they woke him from a sound sleep, or the way it seemed to take forever for even the smallest cuts and bruises to heal.

     Thrawn reached over and took Tycho’s hand. “I’m dying, Tycho. I’m sick and there isn’t anything else they can do about it. They gave me some medicines that should help with things like the headaches and mood swings, at least for now, but...I’m not going to get any better.”

     Tycho looked down at this hand in Thrawn’s and struggled to form a response. But his mind wouldn’t let him. His thoughts bounced around wildly, and he just couldn’t focus on anything. Thrawn, dying? It couldn’t be true. The doctors had made a mistake. They just needed to go get a second opinion, maybe...maybe in the Core. That was it, a quick trip to Corellia or Coruscant or wherever the best medical centers were would do the trick. Surely Wedge would be able to recommend a place, if Tycho reached out to him. Yes, that’s what he would do, he would call Wedge and they would go to the Core and Thrawn would be fine.

     “We can go to Coruscant,” he finally said out loud. “I bet the doctors there can find a solution.

      Thrawn sighed and shook his head sadly. “Don’t think I haven’t considered that,” he said, “but it’s not going to work. There is no other option. Please, Tycho, don’t push this issue,” he said, holding up a hand when Tycho opened his mouth to protest. “I know you would be doing it out of love but believe me, this is it and I would rather spend our last few months together in peace.”

     _Months?_ Tycho couldn’t believe his ears. He yanked his hand away from Thrawn’s and shook his head. This was just far too much for him to take. “Months?”

      “I’m afraid so. Maybe a year, if I’m lucky.”

     So many questions bounced through Tycho’s mind. Finally, though, he settled on asking, “What exactly is wrong, anyway?”

     Thrawn tilted his head a little and pondered. “It’s a problem that often strikes older Chiss,” he said. “Similar, but not identical, to cancer among humans.”

     “So it’s in one specific part of your body?”

     Thrawn nodded, then reached up and tapped a finger to his head. Tycho just wilted a little. No wonder Thrawn didn’t want to, or couldn’t, pursue any further treatments. Neither of them spoke for a while, then Thrawn reached past Tycho for a pad of paper and a pen, and began writing on it. When Tycho gave him a curious look, he explained, “My final will. I need to write it while I still can. You and the kids will inherit everything, of course, that’s not important...but you need to understand how I want you to handle things when we get to the point that I can’t tell you anymore.”

     Tycho just nodded a little. “Do we really have to do this right now?” he asked.

     “I would prefer it,” Thrawn replied. “If only because I know I’m calm and making sense right now, and who knows how long that will last. They can’t even tell me how long the medications will help the symptoms.”

     “I’m not going to remember if you tell me now.”

     Thrawn nodded, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’ll just write it for now then. You can read it whenever you wish. But you will have to read it.”

     Tycho watched him in silence for a few minutes. He struggled to read Cheunh upside down, but he could read enough to recognize that Thrawn was writing orders for his care. “Please let me take you to Coruscant...” he whispered.

     Thrawn looked up at him sadly and shook his head. “I was born here,” he said. “And then I married the love of my life here, rebuilt my relationship with him here, had my children here...I don’t want to risk dying on Coruscant. I want to die here.” He glanced down at his papers and scribbled something out, then wrote more. “When I’m gone, you can do what you want with me. If you want to go back to Coruscant and you want to take my remains there too you can. But please just let me die here.”

     Tycho just stared at him for a moment, then shoved away from his desk and sprang from his chair to rush from the room. “I can’t do this right now, it’s too much,” he said over his shoulder before disappearing out the door. Thrawn watched him go and sighed, then quietly went back to writing. He would leave Tycho alone to process for a little while. And the next time they talked, he would be sure not to bring this issue up again.

 

***   ***   ***

 

     Tycho lost track of time as he sat on the edge of the bed in their room, letting his eyes wander over the framed holos and flat pictures of his family. The one closest to his bed was a recent portrait of just himself and Thrawn, and for the first time he didn’t feel guilty that he had chosen to display that one most prominently instead of one with his children in it too. He looked around the room as he breathed, trying to remain calm in the face of the news he had just received. This had been their room for years, ever since they had finally decided to move out of Thrass’s home, and the story of their lives could be read in the objects scattered around the room. Pictures of family and friends lined walls and shelves. The wall facing their bed was covered in pictures of their life, arranged in order from the earliest pictures they had from the beginning of their relationship to a portrait taken of the entire family just a few months ago, on Tarris’s semi-annual trip home from the Core. The sudden realization that there wouldn’t be any new additions to that wall, and that within the year that wall and the other pictures around the room would be all he had left of Thrawn, was enough to finally make him break down in tears.

     At some point he fell asleep, and when he woke up it was dark outside and silent in the house. He had a moment of irrational panic – just how long had he slept? Long enough to lose Thrawn? – but forced himself to calm down and be logical long enough to roll out of bed and leave the bedroom. He went first into the living room, then the kitchen, but Thrawn was in neither place. Finally, he noticed the light shining through the partially-opened door in the study, and when he peeked through the crack he saw Thrawn sitting at the desk and entering something in a datapad. Part of him wanted to dash into the room, hug Thrawn, and never let him go, but the other part of him still just couldn’t face what was happening. He wound up wandering around the living room for several minutes before returning to the bedroom to use the comm system they kept there. The connection took a few minutes, given the distance it had to cross, but it wasn’t long before he was staring down at the slightly staticky holo of his oldest son.

     “Dad! I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon, I just talked to you two days ago,” Tarris said, laughing a bit. “What’s going on?”

     “Tarris, I…need you to come home.”

      The smile vanished from the younger man’s face. “What? Why? Did something happen? Is everything okay?”

     “No, it’s not…but…I don’t know how much I should tell you, he probably wants to tell you himself…”

      “Well you can’t say something like that and then not tell me,” Tarris said gently. “Is something wrong with [ _To’eyr_ ]?”

     While wandering the living room and trying to decide whether or not to call Tarris home, Tycho had promised himself that he would remain composed and in control over the comm. But he had underestimated how raw he still felt, and how much having to face any of the kids would hurt. He gasped and covered his mouth, trying to stifle the sound of crying, all the while watching Tarris grow more and more alarmed. “He said he’s dying,” he finally whispered. “They found…something when he went to the doctor, and he’s dying.”

     Tarris hissed. “So that’s why he’s been acting odd,” he said. “I see. We’ll come as soon as we can, okay? I have to talk my superiors into giving me leave. Maybe Syal too.” Tycho just nodded, so Tarris added, “In the meantime, get Tamzyn and Thorin home, okay? They’re closer, and you need them.”

     “Right,” Tycho replied. He took a few deep breaths and nodded slowly. “Right. I’ll do that. Just…come quickly, okay? Not just for me. He doesn’t know how long he has left.”

     “Don’t worry. It’ll just be a couple of days, Dad. Just a couple of days.”

      Tycho nodded and broke the connection, watching the static for a bit before shutting the system off entirely. He sighed and turned, then froze when he saw Thawn in the doorway. Normally, Thrawn would be mildly upset that Tycho had gotten to talk to one of the kids and he hadn’t, but right now Tycho didn’t know how much of the conversation Thrawn had heard or how he would feel about it, and that combined with Thrawn’s mood swings made him incredibly worried about Thrawn’s reaction. But the Chiss just shook his head a little and went to sit on the edge of the bed, motioning for Tycho to join him. Tycho did and leaned against Thrawn carefully.

      “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told him.”

      Thrawn shook his head. “You did the right thing, it’s fine.” He kissed Tycho’s cheek. “I love you.”

      “And I love you,” Tycho replied. He raised his head to look Thrawn in the eye, and said, “It’s going to be a while before I even know how to handle this, but…I’ll be strong for you, okay?”

      Thrawn nodded. “I understand. You don’t have to do it alone, though, you’ll have the kids. Maybe some of your friends can come out too.”

     “Maybe…” Tycho sighed and snuggled up to Thrawn’s side again. “Maybe not for a little while longer, though. It should just be the family for a bit. Does Thrass know yet?”

      “No. I’m going to tell him tomorrow.”

      “Right…want me to go with you when you do?”

      Thrawn considered his options as he rubbed Tycho’s back a little. “It would probably be helpful, yes.”

     “Then I will. I’ll even cancel class if I have to.”

      “There’s no need for that,” Thrawn said. “We can go in the evening.” They sat in silence for several long minutes, then Thrawn kissed Tycho’s forehead. “Tycho?”

     “Hmm?”

     “I love you.”

      Tycho’s head jerked up and he stared at Thrawn, his eyes wide with fear. “You _just said that_ two minutes ago, did you forget?”

      Thrawn gave him a sad smile and stroked his cheek. “Of course not. I just want to tell you as much as possible, while I still can.”

 

***   ***   ***

 

     The next three months were a blur for Tycho, filled with doctor’s appointments, hospital stays that only made Thrawn upset, and a constant stream of people coming in and out to visit the ailing former Admiral. Their children took leaves to come stay with them, and at some point (Tycho never could remember exactly when) Wedge appeared at their door and stayed until everything was taken care of. Tycho wasn’t even sure where Wedge stayed because he was entirely focused on tending to Thrawn. Finally, at one point he got so irritated with the constant stream of visitors who weren’t Thrass, Wedge, or his children (or Syal, who had come with Tarris) that he banned everyone from the house without his express permission.

     And then one day, Thrawn just wasn’t there anymore, and Tycho had no idea what to do with himself.

     The funeral was enormous. As an Admiral, and one of their most renowned at that, Thrawn was entitled to a state funeral, which Thrass insisted on giving him after realizing that Thrawn’s will hadn’t specified that he didn’t want one. Tycho protested at first. He wanted something smaller, where he wouldn’t be ogled by thousands of people he didn’t know and where he could grieve in private with his children. But while Thrass was sympathetic, he also pointed out that Thrawn’s life had been quite public, especially after he returned from defeating the Far Outsiders in the Core, and that as a result his funeral was as much a political matter as anything else. Tycho finally relented on the condition that he was allowed to refuse to talk to anyone if he wanted. Thrass agreed, and even arranged for an honor guard to keep Tycho and his children well away from the prying eyes of those attending the funeral. Wedge called the rest of Tycho’s friends from the Core to come as well, and they formed an additional protective barrier around the Alderaanian.

     When the funeral was over and Thrawn was interred in the tombs, Tycho returned to his empty house to decide what to do with himself. Wedge tried to convince him to go back to the Core, and Tarris agreed that it would be a good idea, but Tycho pointed out that his other two children were still in Chiss space. And besides, he had spent so much time on Csilla that he no longer felt comfortable in the Core like he once head. In the end, he threw himself back into his work. His students, and everything that went along with teaching them, provided a suitable distraction for many months.

     And months stretched into years. And still Tycho stayed on Csilla, only venturing into the Core to be a doting grandfather when Tarris and Syal had their first child two years after Thrawn died. As he held his granddaughter for the first time, he seriously considered moving back to the Core to be near her and her parents…but that would mean leaving Tamzyn and Thorin…and Thrawn. And that was something he just couldn’t do.

     Finally, though, the day he had always known would come arrived. On a routine visit to the doctor, just as had happened with Thrawn, Tycho learned that he was ill and there was little to be done about it. The doctor gave him a thorough overview of his options, but in the end Tycho decided that they were too invasive without enough potential for a good quality of life after. And so he called his family home one last time.

 

***   ***   ***

 

   He opened his eyes and groaned a little, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the bright light…which, now that he thought of it, wasn’t that bright. It was more of a warm glow, really, and as he got used to it, he found it to be quite relaxing. And really, there was no reason for him to be groaning, it wasn’t like he was sore or anything.

     _That’s strange,_ he thought, and looked around. But he couldn’t really seem to grasp his surroundings. There was an odd nothingness about them, like they could be whatever he wanted them to be, but otherwise were nothing in particular. Tycho gulped a little and stood up (not that he knew what he had been sitting on). The movement caused no pain. No aches, no sore muscles, no stiff joints to slow him down. He looked down at his own hands. They looked…not young, exactly, but no longer old. Timeless, he supposed. Ageless. Somehow, he felt like that was how they should be. As he studied them more, he felt like maybe he should find it odd, or that it should frighten him that he was in this odd kind-of-nothing place with ageless hands, but for some reason it didn’t. Everything was perfectly comfortable. Everything was perfectly normal.

      Everything was perfect…

      “There you are.”

     That voice! It made his breath catch in his throat and his heart pound in his chest as though trying to break free. Tycho turned, and felt tears welling up in his eyes when he saw the speaker. “It’s _you_.”

     Thrawn grinned at him and laughed. “Of course, who else would it be?”

    Tycho studied the other man closely. He had that same oddly ageless look Tycho had noticed in his hands. But his smile was the same, as was the sparkle in his eye as he looked at Tycho. _But if Thrawn is here, then…_

      “Am I dead? I know you are…”

      “…You always did know how to ask the hard questions,” Thrawn said dryly. “I mean, yes, I guess we are. It’s strange, I never really thought much about an afterlife before, but now here we are.”

     Tycho nodded a bit, finally beginning to understand. “Are we the only ones?”

     “No, just the only ones here in this spot.” Thrawn jerked his head behind him. “Your family is here too. And Ar’alani. They’ve been waiting even longer than me to see you, so we shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

      “But…I mean…how is this even _possible_?” Tycho asked, mind struggling to understand.

     Thrawn laughed again and closed the distance between them, embracing Tycho warmly. “I don’t know and to be honest I don’t care either. Because you know what?”

      “What?” Tycho asked, giving Thrawn a curious look.

      “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters to me. We died, so what? That’s how life goes. Our love didn’t. That matters more to me than anything.”

     Tycho pondered this for a moment, and decided he agreed. “You’re right,” he said. “And I always did like it when you were right.”

     Thrawn smiled warmly and stroked Tycho’s cheek before leaning in for a kiss, the first they had shared in…Tycho couldn’t remember anymore. And it didn’t matter, either, because they were together again. Just like they were always meant to be.


End file.
